Minesto hires LARS suppliers

Minesto has awarded a contract to Welsh companies Holyhead Towing and Turbine Transfers to develop the launch and recovery (LARS) system for its Deep Green tidal plant.

Anglesey-based sister companies Holyhead Towing and Turbine Transfers will be responsible for the concept development, design and fabrication of the LARS system that will be used for Minesto’s Deep Green tidal device set for installation later this year off Wales.

Minesto said the basic need is for a vessel to pick up and transport the Deep Green kite from the assembly hall at Holyhead Harbour to the Holyhead Deep site.

At the site, the vessel needs to be able to recover a subsea tether and in a secure manner connect it to the kite’s top joint connection. Following the system check, the kite needs to be launched into the sea. The recovery process will be reversed.

Dylan Jones, General Manager of Turbine Transfers, said: “A great start to the New Year, it is welcome positive news for us, as well as for the wider community – the investment has the potential to have the coastal waters off Anglesey recognized internationally as a major subsea energy site.”

The Deep Green power plant will be developed in phases, with the installation of the 500kW tidal power plant as part of the first phase that will lead to additional deployments in what will eventually become an array with a total capacity of 10MW.

The plant is expected to power around 8,000 Welsh households.