OpenHydro eyes Indonesian tides

 
OpenHydro, a DCNS company, and Indonesian marine renewable energy developer PT AIR have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at driving forward the development of a tidal energy industry in Indonesia.

The signing ceremony took place at the Indonesia Infrastructure Week Conference and Exhibition 2016 (IIWCE 2016) on November 8, 2016.

PT AIR and OpenHydro have been working together over the past 18 months, assessing the most suitable sites to develop tidal energy projects and identifying at least 10 locations where commercial scale projects could be deployed, OpenHydro informed.

The companies are preparing to carry out further site characterization surveys over the coming months, after which a site for the first pilot array of up to 10MW will be earmarked.

After this initial phase, planned for deployment in 2019, it is expected the project will grow to a target installed capacity of 300MW by 2023.

The pilot array will combine equipment provided by OpenHydro from Europe, with locally manufactured content and final assembly, maintenance and installation in partnership with PT AIR.

Local industrial facility options have been identified and will be assessed and selected by the partners, according to OpenHydro.

Thierry Kalanquin, Chairman of OpenHydro and Vice President Energy at DCNS, said: “A key focus of the collaboration between DCNS/OpenHydro and PT AIR is the development of an industry in Indonesia to support the development of tidal energy projects.”

Panji Adhikumuro Soeharto, President Director at PT AIR, said: “Our partnership combines the mature and proven OpenHydro tidal turbine technology and project development capability, with PT AIR local expertise in relation to the Indonesian tidal environment and development process.”