Renewable energy is an integral part of the Government's longer-term aim of reducing CO2 emissions by 60% by 2050. The Government has set a target of 10% of electricity supply from renewable energy by 2010. In 2005, 4% of the UK's electricity supply came from eligible sources of renewable energy. During the same period, 4.2% of the UK's electricity supply came from all sources of renewable energy.

Wave and tidal-stream power have the potential to play an important role in supplying the nation’s future energy needs and in meeting renewable energy targets.

Leask Marine have been involved in supplying dive teams and work boats for renewables projects in Orkney since they first began in Orkney in 2003 with projects such as cable laying, site investigation, installation works of proto type structures, cable maintenance and salvage recovery works such as recovery of 75 tonne piling frame located in 8 knot tides
The company now has a huge knowledge of working on the wave and tide energy sites in Orkney operated by EMEC.

OYSTER PROJECT

In 2008 Leask Marine Ltd. became involved in the Aquamarine Power Ltd ‘Oyster Project’.

This was to be a worldwide first time deployment of a renewable energy prototype system for producing electricity from wave energy, rather than tidal flow, and would prove to be a challenging project, with an often steep learning curve for all involved.

The test site for the prototype was to be the EMEC site at Billia Croo, on the west coast of mainland Orkney, an area renowned for its ferocious winter storms and almost constant Atlantic swell.

Following on from hydrographical surveys of the area, Leask Marine’s first task was to locate and survey possible target areas for the deployment of the Oyster. Once this was achieved, there was a long wait while directional drillers established the necessary sub-surface pipelines from the mainland to the deployment area, and fabricators in Nigg built the Oyster.

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