Description
The Atlantic Marine Energy Test Site (AMETS) is being developed by Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to facilitate testing of full scale wave energy converters and floating offshore wind technologies in an open ocean harsh metocean environment.
AMETS will be located off Annagh Head, west of Belmullet in County Mayo and will be connected to the national grid.
The test site is an integral component of Ireland’s Ocean Energy Strategy and is being developed in accordance with the national Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan (OREDP).
The site will provide two separate test locations at various depths of water (~50m and 100m) to allow for a range of devices to be tested.
It is envisaged that the test site will provide a grid connected national test facility, to which full scale technologies could be coupled during their final stages of pre-commercial development.
Specification
The test site will comprise of both onshore and offshore components.
Currently offshore there will be two test areas:
- Test Area A will be at 100m water depth and will be located some 16km out from Belderra Strand; Test Area A will be 6.9 km2 (2.02 nautical square miles).
- Test Area B will be at 50m water depth and will be located 6km from the strand. Test Area B will be 1.5 km2 (0.44 nautical square miles) and located ~16km from the strand.
The onshore element comprises a small substation which will be constructed close to the landing point of the offshore cables on Belderra Strand.
The substation site will be 2 acres.
Build of the substation is planned for 2025.
The test sites will be accessible via Frenchport Pier.
Services
The proposed test site in Belmullet will initially focus on wave and wind powered technologies. The test site is not yet in operation for developers but SEAI can offer interested developers a suite of detailed information such as live met-ocean data measurements, numerical wave modelling reports including wave propagation and wave energy assessments, offshore site investigations including vibrocores and multi-beam surveys.
Observations
Wave
Link to live data here
Real-time observations from the Atlantic Marine Energy Test Site Data Dashboard wave buoys known as Belmullet Inner (Berth B) and Belmullet Outer (Berth A) include:
- Wave Height
- Wave Period
The Atlantic Marine Energy Test Site data dashboard is a set of graphs and tools that display real-time performance indicators related to the wave climate at the Belmullet Inner (Berth B) and Belmullet Outer (Berth A) sites. Historical data is also available.
Observations gathered from the wave measurement buoys include:
- Significant Wave Height (metre)
- Average Wave Period (secs)
- Mean Wave Direction (degree)
- Maximum Wave Height (in measured period)
- Wave Spectra
Tidal
Data for tidal current resource assessments were gathered from a number of Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) deployed at the AMETS site A and B.
Wind
Data for wind resource assessments were gathered throught a robust, simulated, 10 year dataset from the New European Wind Atlas for AMETS site A and B.
Contact
Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland
3 Park Place
Hatch Street Upper
Dublin 2
Co.Dublin
Tel: +353-1-8082100
Email: [email protected]
