Project MONITOR eyes tidal energy blade reliability boost

A new project focused on investigating the forces acting on blades and structures of tidal energy converters and their impact on reliability will be officially launched at the International Conference on Ocean Energy (ICOE).

Project MONITOR aims to reduce the risk of failure of tidal energy technologies, and enhance their reliability, resulting in increased investment in the marine energy industry by both the public and private sectors.

The MONITOR consortium will kick start the project on June 13, 2018, through ICOE 2018 conference as part of the developer forum whose goal is to introduce tidal energy developers and other interested stakeholders to the project.

Also, the consortium hopes to receive feedback on specific concerns and priorities around reliability in the tidal energy industry to help shape the project methodologies.

By engaging with the industry from the beginning of the project, MONITOR will ensure that its work is relevant and responsive to real, practicable reliability concerns, according to the project team.

The MONITOR project is led by Swansea University, and brings together the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, Magallanes Renovables, Région Normandie, Sabella, Universidade do Algarve, Université Le Havre Normandie and University College Cork.

The project will run until 2021 and the findings will be disseminated at a variety of workshops to developers and the wider industry.

Michael Togneri, from Swansea University, said: “Europe’s Atlantic coast is one of the most promising regions of the world for the growth of tidal stream energy. However, while the industry is rapidly gaining experience in the deployment of individual turbines and pilot farms, scarcity of available data on device reliability limits investor confidence and makes attracting investment more expensive.

“As part of the MONITOR project a wide range of methods will be investigated including simulations, laboratory test, and testing at sea, with the aim to develop a monitoring system that can be applied to any tidal turbine. This will ultimately de-risk development, improve reliability and lower energy costs.

“To ensure the project reaches its potential we’re keen to work closely with the industry.”

MONITOR has been funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), as part of the Interreg Atlantic Area program.