Most read articles of 2017

Tidal Energy Today is bringing you the list of the articles you read the most in 2017.

MeyGen nears 400MWh of tidal power generation

Atlantis Resources has revealed that in the first three weeks of March, the average generation at MeyGen has been sufficient to power the equivalent of 1,250 UK homes. The power performance of the turbines at MeyGen exceeded the contractual output guarantees, putting the project on track to achieve capacity factors in excess of 40%.

The first phase of the MeyGen tidal array project started operation in November 2016, subsequently securing the full Ofgem accreditation as a 5 ROC project in February 2017. MeyGen’s Phase 1A features four tidal turbines with a total capacity of 6MW, three of which built by Andritz Hydro Hammerfest (AHH) and one AR1500 Atlantis turbine.

Giant wave device sails across Atlantic for Wave Hub trials

In February 2017 the US-based wave energy developer GWave unveiled plans to deploy a 9MW wave energy device at the Wave Hub testing center in UK. GWave spent the past decade developing its Power Generation Vessel (PGV) technology, and is currently preparing to bring the first full-scale device for testing purposes at the Wave Hub test center, off Cornwall.

The device floats on surface of the ocean and pitches with the swells as the waves pass underneath. Inside the device there are weighs which swing in counter motion to generate electricity.The target date for the deployment of the device is summer of 2018.

Philippines plans 20GW of renewable energy capacity by 2040

Energy Secretary for the Philippines, Alfonso Cusi, said in April 2017 that the country plans to add at least 20,000MW of renewable energy capacities by 2040. Cusi made the statement during the launch of the Renewables Readiness Assessment (RRA) for the Philippines, undertaken by the country’s Department of Energy (DOE) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

PLAT-I tidal platform generates first power

The 280kW PLAT-I platform was installed on November 25, 2017, and within two days after the installation, the SME and Schottel Hydro teams completed the first phase of commissioning the system. The work resulted in first power generation, and according to the developers, all four Schottel Instream Turbines (SITs) mounted on the platform reached their rated power of 70kW each, and proved their performance characteristics.

Also, SME said the platform demonstrated ‘excellent stability’ throughout a range of tide and weather conditions, operating autonomously through its platform control system during spring tides in December 2017.

 
Orkney Isles light up with Scotrenewables tidal power

Scotrenewables Tidal Power’s SR2000 produced 116MWh in less than a week of continuous generation, providing nearly 7% of Orkney’s electricity demand in August 2017. The power was produced from the 2MW floating tidal generator during ongoing trials at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC).

On shorter periods, the SR2000 output’s contribution to the Orkney grid exceeded 25% of demand over a seven day period, the Scottish-based tidal energy developer said.

Turbulent tides hit Alderney

Alderney Commission for Renewable Energy (ACRE) has reportedly cancelled the agreement with Alderney Renewable Energy for the development of tidal power resources around the island’s waters. The body in charge of licensing and regulating renewable energy developments in Alderney, the ACRE, has decided to end the agreement with Alderney Renewable Energy due to apparent breach of contract, the BBC has reported.

The contract in question is actually a 65-year permit Alderney Renewable Energy received from ACRE in 2008 to install tidal turbines and infrastructure for renewable energy systems in Alderney’s territorial waters in the English Channel – an area of 48 square miles with an estimated tidal resource in excess of 3000MW.

 
SE Asia in the spotlight for new floating tidal technology

International collaboration between European and Asian clean energy developers has resulted in the introduction of a new floating tidal energy solution for Southeast Asia. Sustainable Marine Energy (SME), and Schottel Hydro, clean energy developers from UK and Germany respectively, have been working together to develop an integrated surface floating tidal platform solution known as PLAT-I.

The platform floats on the surface of the water hosting four Schottel’s SIT 250 turbines, with the total capacity of 268kW. It is meant for deployment in less aggressive tidal sites to enable the exploitation of a greater number of locations to support island communities.

A significant opportunity exists in the Philippines to harness the power of the oceans to provide a reliable supply of energy as the country boasts more than 7,000 islands, many of which are isolated communities that still have limited access to electricity.

GE drops Oceade tidal turbine. Sinks NEPTHYD project

General Electric (GE) has decided to not pursue further development of the Oceade tidal turbine, which resulted in Engie shelving the tidal array demo project planned for Raz Blanchard, off France. The two companies were selected in 2014 to develop a tidal array demonstration farm where GE was tasked with supplying four Oceade 1.4-18 tidal turbines for the project dubbed NEPTHYD.

However, GE decided to suspend the development of the Oceade tidal turbine and redeployed around 40 of its employees working on tidal developments across its other activities, mainly in offshore wind, French media reported. As a result, Engie decided to shelve the NEPTHYD project citing ‘lack of supplier’ as the reason.

Cape Sharp Tidal untangles Bay of Fundy tidal turbine

Cape Sharp Tidal has recovered its 2MW tidal turbine from the Bay of Fundy after untangling the line that caused a two-month-long delay in its retrieval. The turbine was recovered on Thursday, June 15, 2017, after it was set free from the tangled line around its subsea base that was preventing its safe retrieval. After that, the turbine was moved to Port Saint John for maintenance.

 
Horizon 2020 picks Nova Innovation to lead €20M tidal arrays project

European Union’s Horizon 2020 has selected Nova Innovation to lead the project that aims to increase the commercial viability of tidal power through tidal arrays optimization. The project, titled Enabling Future Arrays in Tidal (EnFAIT), will build on Nova’s existing operational tidal power station in Bluemull Sound off the Shetland Islands in Scotland, which was one of the world’s first grid-connected offshore array of tidal energy turbines.

It will extend the Bluemull Sound array to six turbines and seek to demonstrate that high array reliability and availability can be achieved using best practice maintenance regimes. Also, the layout of the turbines will be adjusted to enable array interactions and optimization to be studied for the very first time at an operational tidal energy site.

The EnFAIT project began in July, and will run until June 2022, bringing together a consortium of nine leading industrial, academic and research organizations from across Europe.

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