MPV Inyanga Entsha set for large-scale tidal energy deployments

Inyanga Maritime is developing a new dynamically-positioned (DP2) multi-purpose vessel (MPV) Inyanga Entsha that will be used to install HydroWing technology combined with Tocardo’s tidal turbines.

The dedicated multi-purpose Installation and O&M vessel Inyanga Entsha is powered by DC Electric Propulsion, offering 35% increased energy efficiency leading to very low fuel consumption and very high reliability, according to Inyanga Maritime.

Entsha is currently enroute to UK where she will complete her conversion adding a subsea crane, mezzanine deck and intelligent LARS (Launch and Recovery system).

The conversion work is being carried out by Harland Wolff in Appledore. The LARS is operated from the bridge and allows subsea installation without remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) or personnel on deck- reducing risk to personnel and cost.

The HydroWing is a multi-rotor subsea device with three turbines mounted on a wing like structure which is stabbed onto a sub-structure, a modular gravity-based frame mounted on the seabed.

The device can be a single or double wing, depending on the depth of water at the site. The key advantages of the technology are the enhanced redundancy of the multi-rotor system and the high packing density capable of extracting 275MW/km2 of seabed space with robust simplicity and reduced CAPEX.

The power is integrated through the patented Turbine Control Hub mounted in the wing and electrical/ data connection is via wet mate connectors, allowing quick and simple installation and recovery.

Richard Parkinson, managing director at HydroWing, said: “The arrival of the Inyanga Entsha greatly enhances our technology and our capability, allowing us to provide a full EPC solution to develop, install and operate commercially viable tidal energy arrays in partnership with our strategic partners and investors”.

Tocardo is fully owned by HydroWing and QED Naval. This tripartite, collaborative partnership brings together decades of multi-sector expertise as well as a blend of well-tested, complementary marine energy products.

One of the major issues preventing the commercialisation of tidal energy is high installation costs and more significantly, high operations and maintenance costs.

The HydroWing technology is said to addresses this with a low weight, modular solution. The installation, operations and maintenance costs at scale are significantly less than offshore wind in terms of Installation cost/ MW Installed, according to developers, which added that Inyanga Entsha will be able to install and maintain 100MW capacity per year.