Top news, November 12 – 18, 2018

MarineEnergy.biz has compiled the top news from marine energy industry from November 12 – 18, 2018.

Faroe Islands to buy power from Minesto’s tidal kites

Swedish marine energy developer Minesto has signed up its first customer through a collaboration agreement with the main power utility on the Faroe Islands, SEV, for the installation of two DG100 tidal energy devices.

The agreement also includes a power purchase agreement through which SEV committed to purchase the electricity generated by Minesto’s tidal energy converters, rated at 100kW each.

The collaboration will cover installation, commissioning and operation of two grid-connected units of Minesto’s DG100 model, part of the company’s subsea kite technology called Deep Green.

Orbital Marine unveils O2 turbine blueprints

Scottish tidal developer Orbital Marine Power has presented the designs of its commercial production tidal turbine – the Orbital O2 2MW – planned for deployment at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in 2020.

The Orbital O2 will comprise of a 73-meter long floating superstructure, supporting two 1MW turbines at each side for a nameplate power output of 2MW, at a tidal current speed of 2.5 m/s, Orbital Marine informed.

With the controllers able to support the installation of even larger blades in the future, Orbital Marine believes that, when launched in 2020, the O2 will be the most powerful tidal generating platform in the world.

European Parliament nods yes to 32% renewable energy rule

The European Parliament has adopted key set of regulations on clean energy which include a new binding renewable energy target of at least 32% by 2030 for the member states of the European Union.

On November 13, 2018, the European Parliament completed the parliamentary approval of four of the eight legislative proposals in the Clean Energy for All Europeans package, introduced by the European Commission in 2016.

The approved regulations set two new targets for the European Union in 2030 – a binding renewable energy target of at least 32%, and an energy efficiency target of at least 32.5%. The new targets are expected to stimulate Europe’s industrial competitiveness, boost growth and jobs, reduce energy bills, help tackle energy poverty and improve air quality.

Tidal Sails boosts full-scale demonstration volume

The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) has granted Tidal Sails’ subsidiary Finnmark Tidal Energy permission to increase the installed capacity of the planned full-scale pilot project in the Kvalsund Strait in Norway.

The tidal power plant will now have an installed capacity of 6 MW – an increase from 4.4MW originally planned by the company – with additional changes which include minor design revisions, and an increased number of sails, Tidal Sails informed.

The pilot plant will feature Tidal Sails’ TackReach technology, which is a two-station solution that operates with sails going back and forth – one sail leg is reaching with the current, and the other is tacking up against the current.

Hann-Ocean senses China’s waves

Hann-Ocean Energy has conducted a survey of wave energy conditions around two islands in South China Sea that could potentially be powered by the company’s wave energy device.

In mid-October 2018, Hann-Ocean’s engineers placed the pressure sensors, high-precision data acquisition instruments and other equipment around the islands to collect sea wave data from different directions in the waters off Guangdong Province.

After the precise analysis, using the wave data as well as islands’ electricity demand data provided by the government, Hann-Ocean’s technicians will perform various simulations to calculate the power demand, potential location of Drakoo wave energy device, and other features