SmartBay Test Site

The SmartBay Test Site is located off the north shore of Galway Bay, 2.4 km southeast of the village of Spiddal. The test site is 37 hectares in size with water depths of 21-24 meters and is clearly marked by four cardinal marks, one at each corner. The test site has been in operation since 2006 and forms an intrinsic part of the Government’s ocean energy programme. It is a collaborative effort between the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and the Marine Institute.

The test site allows for the deployment and testing of a wide range of prototype marine renewable energy devices, innovative marine technologies and novel sensors. The test site provides researchers and those involved in developing ocean energy devices with an area in which to safely test and demonstrate quarter-scale prototype marine energy converters and related technologies. A maximum of three marine renewable energy test devices can be deployed at the test site at any time, for a maximum duration of 18 months.

The test site also provides access to the SmartBay Observatory, a national shared marine research, test and demonstration facility installed on the seafloor to catalyse and facilitate the commercial development of cutting-edge marine ICT products and services.

Visit www.smartbay.ie for more details about the SmartBay facility.

The SmartBay Test Site is part of EirOOS - the Irish Ocean Observing System: A component of the European Ocean Observing System (EOOS) and is supported by Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI) and by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) as part of a SFI Research Infrastructure Award under Grant number 12/RI/2331.