Gallery: SEENEOH Bordeaux to test tidal devices

SEENEOH is a tidal testing site on the Garonne river, in close proximity to the city center of Bordeaux, France, designed to test full-scale river and mid-scale ocean tidal energy devices.

Bordeaux is located upstream the Gironde estuary where tidal currents increase in the Garonne river which runs through the city. In Bordeaux, the tidal range during spring tides exceeds 5 m/s and current velocity reaches up to 3.5 m/s, with currents above 1 m/s occurring approximately 80% of the time, according to SEENEOH.

These natural conditions make the are suitable for tidal energy testing. SEENEOH tidal testing site is located a few hundred meters offshore, in the the water depth area greater than 8 m.

It comprises three test berths designed to accommodate tidal devices with either mounted or floating fixation type.

The grid connection has a total capacity of 250 kW, according to SEENEOH website.

SEENEOH subsea electrical station installation (Photos by SEENEOH)

The performance and the environmental impact of each tested technology are monitored through a well-designed instrumentation system that can be scaled according to the developer’s specifications.

The test site is operated by Énergie de la Lune – an engineering firm specializing in marine renewable energy and ocean engineering.

SEENEOH represents a precursor to the establishment of tidal pilot farms in the estuary of the Gironde.

It is expected to become fully operational in 2016.

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