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Displaying items by tag: Swansea Bay

At the Welsh Port of Milford Haven, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed this week with Bombora, to highlight their commitment to the marine energy industry in Pembrokeshire.

Originating in Australia, Bombora opened offices in Pembroke Dock in 2017 and has grown into a thriving business employing twenty-four full time staff.

The company is developing a 1.5 MW mWave™ wave energy converter demonstration device which will harness the potential of marine energy. This will see the mWave sits below the surface of the water where wave pressure causes its flexible rubber membrane to inflate and deflate pumping air through a turbine to generate electricity.  The technology is one of the most powerful wave energy demonstration devices to be built around the world to date.

The MOU signed by Chief Executive of the Port of Milford Haven Andy Jones and Managing Director of Bombora Sam Leighton, will help to strengthen collaboration between the two organisations with the aim of realising the economic and energy opportunities presented by marine renewable energy within the Swansea Bay City Region and further afield.

Andy Jones from the Port commented “There is huge potential for this growing industry here in Pembrokeshire and our base at Pembroke Port is becoming a key site for companies such as Bombora to fabricate and assemble large scale devices for deployment at sea.” He continued, “It’s not just the Port that is benefiting though; the local supply chain has already succeeded in securing contracts with Bombora and plenty more opportunities will become available as the sector grows”.

Meanwhile Bombora’s Sam Leighton said “Since setting up our operational headquarters in Pembroke Dock we have received unprecedented support from the local industry and community. The facilities at Pembroke Port offer us every opportunity to fabricate, assemble, launch, test and maintain our first utility-scale mWave here in Pembrokeshire. This agreement reaffirms our long term commitment to establish Pembrokeshire as a leading centre of excellence for marine renewables.”

Published in Power From the Sea

Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife.  It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat.  Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!