This innovative project is 50% co-financed by the City Council and the European Union. It will be located in the hammer of the Marina, in the northern part of the port of Valencia, where the force of the waves is more favourable.
The president of the Port Authority of Valencia (OAV), Aurelio Martínez, signed this Monday with the councillor for Climate Emergency and Energy Transition of the City Council of Valencia, Alejandro Ramon, the agreement between the city council and the PAV for the use of the public port domain to install a device for the generation of electricity from waves. This is a pilot project that will be located in the area known as the hammer of the Marina de València.
The agreement signed facilitates the implementation of the WEC (Wave Energy Converter) project, which is 50% co-financed by the City Council of Valencia and the European Union and responds to the City Council’s desire to explore new ways of generating green energy, in this case taking advantage of Valencia’s ideal situation as a coastal city, which allows the power of the waves to be used to generate energy.
Thanks to this agreement, the Port of Valencia authorises the occupation of 105 m² (77 m² of land and 28 m² of water) of port public domain in the area of the hammerhead of the access channel to the Marina, in the northern part of the port. Due to the small size of the device to be installed, it will have no effect on navigation.
The construction work is expected to begin this year and by 2023, part of the energy required for the lighting of the Marina will be covered. It is estimated that the device will generate around 130,000 kilowatts per year, representing a reduction of 16 tonnes in the city’s annual CO₂ production.
The device, similar to a float, is simple to operate. It is placed in the sea, connected to a hydraulic arm. The force of the waves causes a constant and repetitive movement of lifting and immersion of the float which, through a hydraulic system, transfers the energy generated to the electricity generation equipment. The estimated cost of the device is 495,000 euros and the funding comes from the European Union’s MatchUP project (Horizon 2020), which promotes urban transformation through innovative technologies in the fields of energy, mobility and ICT.