TIGER surveys Morbihan tidal site off France

The teams from Université Bretagne Sud (UBS) and Morbihan Hydro Energies have carried out a series of hydrodynamic measurement campaigns and environmental characterisations of the Morbihan site in Brittany, France.

UBS and Morbihan Hydro Energies, along with Alpha & Co, deployed an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP V50) to collect currents and wave data over a period of six weeks starting in May 2020.

The measures of the ADCP deployment will be used to validate hydrodynamic modelling of Sabella D8 turbines that will be installed on the site as part of the €45.4 million Tidal Stream Industry Energiser Project (TIGER) project.

According to the information on project website, Sabella plans to deploy two 250kW D8 turbines at Morbihan site in 2022.

Also, from June until mid-November 2020, the UBS team carried out two measurement missions on the intertidal zone of the landing site of the experimental tidal energy project in Morbihan, in Arzon Municipality.

The main objectives of these two missions were to obtain information on morphological and altimetric characterisation, sedimentary characterization, and inventory of the fauna and flora on the site.

The information gathered will strengthen the environmental knowledge on the site, according to TIGER.

Furthermore, this initial environmental characterisation will provide elements for the Morbihan Data Centre and constitute the baseline for the environmental monitoring of the site that will be set up following the installation of the two turbines at Morbihan.

A video of the deployment and retrieval of the ADCP can be viewed below.

Led by the UK’s Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, TIGER project comprises 19 partners from across the UK and France spanning turbine developers, ocean energy demonstration sites, research organisations, as well local and regional authorities.

The project aims to accelerate the growth of tidal stream energy by installing up to 8 MW of new tidal capacity at sites in and around the English Channel region, thus driving innovation and the development of new products and services.