Deep Green turbine design gets go-ahead

Swedish tidal energy developer Minesto and German tidal turbine manufacturer Schottel Hydro have completed the turbine design for Minesto’s Deep Green tidal power plant.

Minesto has also placed an order for a prototype of the turbine, with the delivery in early 2017. The order of the power take-off system is the first result of the strategic technology partnership between Minesto and Schottel Hydro, which began in December 2015.

The development of the turbine has, among other things, resulted in a larger rotor diameter, with five blades instead of three, Minesto informed.

The design has been established and verified through model tests by German Schiffbau Versuchsanstalt in Potsdam.

The development of Deep Green has now entered the next phase where the design of the full-scale system will be completed, according to Minesto.

The manufacturing of the prototype and the factory acceptance test will be conducted at Schottel Hydro.

Martin Edlund, CEO of Minesto, said: “We are very pleased to have completed and verified the turbine design for Deep Green. Compared with the first generation Deep Green, the turbine’s performance has been improved by about 10%.”

Martin Baldus, Technical Director at Schottel Hydro, added: “We completed the detailed design of the turbine and power conversion system for Deep Green. The model scale tests prove the turbines performance and cavitation behavior to be advantageous compared to previous designs.”

Edlund added that the procurement process for subsystems and components for the full-scale demonstrator is undergoing in parallel with the final design.

Schottel Hydro is expected to deliver a customised turbine solution which will optimally fit the requirements of Deep Green tidal power plant during 2016 and 2017.

Minesto’s Deep Green technology consists of a wing, that resembles the kite, and the electricity is produced when the water current creates a hydrodynamic lift force on the wing which pushes the kite forward.