DCNS Energies starts dismantling Paimpol-Bréhat array

DCNS Energies and its subsidiary OpenHydro have retrieved one of the two turbines of the Paimpol-Bréhat array to conduct repairs on the faulty part identified last year.

The turbine was transported on OpenHydro’s Triskell barge to Cherbourg on April 6, 2017, where DCNS/OpenHydro teams will replace the component that is threatening turbines’ resistance to corrosion in the long-term, according to DCNS Energies.

The operation will take place in the Port of Cherbourg over the next few months, and after the overhaul, the turbine is planned for redeployment next fall.

The second turbine will be retrieved within the next few weeks, while a definitive schedule for its redeployment will be determined later, DCNS Energies said.

As reported earlier, the faulty parts were supplied by an unnamed British company which is facing a lawsuit filed by DCNS. The same problem was discovered on OpenHydro’s turbines of similar type used for Cape Sharp Tidal project in Canada.

The two turbines for the Paimpol-Bréhat demonstration project, with the combined capacity of 1MW, were deployed in the first half of 2016, off the coast of Brittany in France. The project is jointly developed by DCNS and EDF.