OpenHydro, a DCNS company, is part of a consortium which has been selected by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment to supply a tidal turbine system for installation at Naru Strait, off Japan.
The 2MW open-centre turbine unit will be built in France and shipped to Japan where site surveys are to begin later this year, with procurement activities, fabrication and cable laying scheduled to start in 2017, OpenHydro informed.
The turbine is planned for deployment in 2018 off Goto City, Nagasaki Prefecture, and will be subsequently connected to the grid.
During the first year of operation, intensive tests will be conducted, the results of which will provide a reference for the build-out of commercial scale tidal arrays in Japan, according to OpenHydro.
The consortium behind the project includes Kyuden Mirai Energy, Nippon Steel & Sumikin Engineering and NPO Nagasaki Marine Industry Cluster Promotion Association.
The subsea base will be manufactured locally by Nippon Steel & Sumikin Engineering which will also be responsible for all mobilisation and deployment activities.
OpenHydro has incorporated OpenHydro Technology Japan, to manage and oversee the delivery of this demonstration project.
It will also lead development activities in relation to future commercial scale schemes.
James Ives , OpenHydro’s Chief Executive, said: “Through this demonstration project we will work with our consortium partners to foster local skills and expertise. In future, we will manufacture devices for commercial scale arrays in Japan, underlining again the potential of the industry to create jobs and economic benefit where significant tidal resource is available. As such, this test device is an essential step in the development of a tidal industry in Japan.”