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Total 2003 capacity stands at 0.5 Megawatts.
One onshore project now operational is the LIMPET (Land Installed Marine Powered Energy Transformer) device, a 500kW shoreline oscillating water column on the Scottish island of Islay. An example of the hinged contour device is the Pelamis Sea Snake developed by Ocean Power Delivery (for both, see Case Studies). It will be the first deep-water grid-connected trial. The 750kW device is entering full scale testing in Leith docks in Edinburgh at the moment and is destined for Orkney. A number of the machines will be joined together to form a wave farm about 1km square, providing enough power for 20,000 homes (30MW).
Future development
Wind generated waves on the ocean surface of the world have a total (estimated) power of 90 million GW. Because of the direction of the prevailing winds and the size of the Atlantic Ocean, the UK has wave power levels that are amongst the highest in the world. The wave energy industry, like the tidal one, sees itself as having the potential of the wind industry but is currently around 10 years behind it.
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