Financing agreed for 2MW in-river pilot tidal farm

The developers behind the pilot hydrokinetic tidal farm have signed a financing agreement for the project which will be installed on the river Rhône in the eastern France.

Composed of 39 hydrokinetic river turbines to be located downstream of Génissiat, the pilot farm is said to represent the first large-scale deployment of hydrokinetic technology that will contribute to the creation of the French industrial sector of in-river tidal turbines.

The agreement was signed between the four parties consisting of the French electricity generation company, Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR), hydrokinetic technology developer, HydroQuest, shipbuilder Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN), and French Agency for Environment and Energy Management (ADEME).

HydroQuest will provide the turbines for the project, which will be manufactured by CMN, while CNR will take charge of project development, engineering, operation and maintenance, the companies said.

Representing an investment of €12 million, financed 50% by the ADEME, the pilot farm of turbines should be commissioned in early 2019.

It is estimated that the pilot farm will cover the annual power consumption of 2,7000 inhabitants by generating an average of 6,700 MWh of clean electricity each year.

The project was selected under a call for projects launched by ADEME in summer 2015.