The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) has decided to use MIKE by DHI for studying water levels, currents and waves in the often rather harsh environment at EMEC’s test sites in the Orkney Islands located NW of Scotland, UK.

EMEC is a test centre created to promote the development of the wave and tidal stream energy conversion industries in the UK and wider. The established open-sea grid-connected test facility allows a ‘plug and play’ approach for testing of new wave and tidal energy devices in full scale.

The tidal test site is located to the west of Eday, one of Orkney’s North Isles, and east of Muckle Green Holm, is a tidal stream known as the Fall of Warness. This body of water is approximately 2km wide and 3.5km long. There are currently five test berths located in water depths of approximately 25-50m. Due to the narrow channel very strong tidal streams occur. During spring tides the typical strength is approximately 3.4 m/s and for neap tides approximately 1.3 m/s.