Vince told Utility Week that a prototype of the Searaser device – which will sit close to the shore and use the motion of the waves to pump seawater to an onshore turbine – would be in the water by Autumn.
The prototype will be tested at the FabTest marine testing site in Falmouth, where firms such as Fred Olsen are also testing wave devices.
Ecotricity is the majority shareholder in Searaser. The company plans to have a commercially available device by 2014. Eventually, said Vince, the technology will be “cheaper than offshore wind”.