A&P Falmouth Scores Marine Renewables Hat Trick

A&P Falmouth currently has three marine renewable devices in the dockyard, each in varying stages of development.

The fabrication of Seatricity’s Oceanus 2 wave energy device is now complete and is being assembled at the yard before being the first device deployed at Wave Hub. The landmark contract was awarded to A&P Falmouth in February.

The larger rated capacity Oceanus 2 was built in the fabrication workshops, and will be assembled on the quayside and deployed from a wharf at A&P’s shipyard in Falmouth. It will be deployed in imminently and if successful, it could pave the way for the manufacture of a further 60 devices.

Fred Olsen’s BOLT Lifesaver device is back in the dockyard to be disassembled after two years of testing in the sheltered FabTest site off Falmouth Bay. It was the first device installed at FabTest.

BOLT Lifesaver is a wave energy converter, and A&P Falmouth was awarded the manufacturing contract. This involved procuring materials, fabrication in the workshop, assembly at dockside, and craning into the sea by a tandem lift using Falmouth’s large dockside travelling cranes.

Testing is continuing on the groundbreaking Whatever Input to Torsion Transfer (WITT) renewable energy device, which will harvest energy from the motion of the sea.

The WITT transmission system collects chaotic movement in water, wind, human, animal or vehicle motion and turns it into useable power.

A&P Falmouth is leading a project with a consortium of partners WITT, Supacat, University of Exeter and Plymouth University to demonstrate the capability of the WITT transmission system to supplement ship power generation systems. The Technology Strategy Board funded project will aid the understanding to which extent the power generated will reduce the amount of fuel used, saving money and contributing to the elimination of carbon gases.

Renowned throughout the world for ship repair and conversion, the A&P Group is now at the forefront of the marine renewable energy sector – from assisting developers in the design process, through rigorous cost analysis, to excellence in the engineering process itself.

Paul Weston, A&P’s Marine Renewables Technical Manager stated: “The last few years have seen rapid growth for A&P in the industry, thanks to the company’s focus on meeting the needs of renewable energy firms and it is clear that early interface between the developer and fabricator reveals real cost savings for the energy sector.”