Highlights of April 2017

Tidal Energy Today has recapped the news from wave and tidal energy sectors that have marked the month of April 2017.

Penguin wave device powers UK grid

Wello’s Penguin device has fed the electricity harnessed from the Orkney’s waves into the UK national grid. The 1MW Penguin wave energy converter was installed at the European Marine Energy Centre’s (EMEC’s) grid-connected wave test site at Billia Croo at the beginning of March by Orkney-based Green Marine.

WES opens control systems innovation call

Wave Energy Scotland (WES) has launched the call for control systems suitable for use with a variety of wave energy converters. WES is offering up to £47,000 per project lasting up to 3 months. This call for feasibility study proposals represents the first of 3 stages in WES’ control systems program, and up to 100% of project costs, via a contract for research and development services, are available. The deadline for the applications to the call has been set for June 12, 2017.

MaRINET2 launches call for free access to testing facilities

The MaRINET2 project has opened a call for applications for ocean energy developers to access a world-leading network of testing and research infrastructures across Europe free of charge. The call is open to offshore energy technology developers, including wind, wave and tidal energy at system and component level. The deadline for applications is set for May 20, 2017.

Scotrenewables’ SR2000 goes full force

Scotrenewables Tidal Power’s SR2000 floating tidal turbine has reached full-rated power at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney on April 12, 2017. Scotrenewables said the focus now was on building generation up on the SR2000 over the immediate future.

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 operation will take place in the Port of Cherbourg over the next few months, while the second turbine of the array will be retrieved within the next few weeks.

Minesto lands consent for Holyhead Deep tidal installation

Natural Resources Wales has awarded a marine license to Minesto for the installation and operation of a 500kW Deep Green tidal power plant off the coast of Anglesey in Wales. It will feature a single Deep Green tidal device, seabed foundation and a buoy moored at surface. Minesto plans to start with the installation of the power plant later this year.

Norway approves construction of 350kW tidal power plant

Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) has granted a license to Norwegian Ocean Power for the construction and operation of a 350kW tidal demonstration plant. The power plant will be located north of the Arctic Circle in Gimsøystraumen, Norway. It will feature a horizontal-axis spiral-design tidal turbine, which will be installed at the water depth of around 15 meters.

EC-OG turns on subsea power hybrid in Orkney

Aberdeen-based engineering company EC-OG has installed and switched on its Subsea Power Hub (SPH) system at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney. As a next step, EC-OG plans to leave the SPH running 100% autonomously with wireless data monitoring over the summer months.

Magallanes launches full-scale floating tidal platform

Magallanes Renovables has launched its multi-megawatt floating tidal platform in Vigo, Galicia, north-west of Spain, on April 21, 2017. The platform will soon undergo trials off Vigo, Spanish media report, before being transported to the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) where it will remain for one year for further trials.

Cape Sharp Tidal to have another go at turbine retrieval

Cape Sharp Tidal has temporarily halted the retrieval of tidal turbine from the Bay of Fundy until the next tidal cycle. The 2MW OpenHydro turbine was successfully disconnected from the transmission cable, but the turbine itself was not retrieved during this tidal window. The next retrieval operation in planned for early May.

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