Danish wave energy firm Wavepiston has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Export Barbados (BIDC), an agency of the Barbados Government, as part of its journey towards commercial wave energy deployment in the Caribbean.

Under the acronym WEB (Wave Energy in Barbados), Wavepiston and Export Barbados completed a six-month pre-feasibility study for the deployment of wave energy farms in the Atlantic waters of Barbados in 2024.

According to the Danish company, the MoU signals a clear move towards a commercial pilot wave energy project.

“Together with Export Barbados (BIDC), we look forward to consolidating this partnership and advancing the country’s net zero aspirations, by delivering on this 50 MW commercial target,” Wavepiston said.

Wavepiston also reported that it had carried out 1:30 experiments in the wave tank at Queen’s University Belfast as part of the COHSI-WEC project in order to get a better understanding of the dynamic behaviour of the upgraded Wavepiston system, as well as validating numerical models.

Initial results show that Wavepiston’s flexible sails prove effective in mitigating peak forces during extreme events, thereby validating the company’s approach of using sails composed of flexible panels to passively counter extreme events. Data was collected by multiple gauges, including force gauges, motion trackers and video recordings from multiple angles.

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