The test structure for the Bourne Tidal Test Site (BTTS) will be installed next week near the railroad bridge in the Cape Cod Canal, Massachusetts.
Marine Renewable Energy Collaborative (MRECo), the organization in charge of tidal testing site development, said the Bourne tidal test structure is set to arrive to New Bedford today where it will be placed on a barge that will head to the Cape Cod Canal on Monday, November 6, 2017.
After that, the company tasked with the installation of the structure, AGM Marine, will drive three piles in the first three days and assemble the structure on top of the piles – likely by the end of next week, MRECo said.
The work will take place in the water off the railroad bridge and the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Cape Cod Canal Field Office.
To remind, MRECo received the final approval to install the test structure from the US Army Corps of Engineers late in September 2017 after several environmental studies and careful review by multiple agencies.
The BTTS will consist of a steel test structure comprising two pilings joined by a bridge with test turbine mounted onto the bridge. The structure was built at MassTank, a Middleboro-based manufacturer of steel tanks and large structures.
The structure will be sited approximately 10 meters south of the west end of the railroad bridge. It is anticipated that turbines of up to 3 meters in diameter will be tested with maximum output of 100kW.
The BTTS is part of the New England Marine Energy Development System (NEMEDS) which is a network of testing facilities located in around 150-kilometer radius. These test facilities are expected to help device designers obtain valuable information that will enable them to scale up and commercialize more efficiently.
MRECo is a nonprofit organization that educates and involves all stakeholders to provide the sustainable development of renewable energy in New England waters.