Sabella reinstalls D10 tidal turbine for third test campaign offshore France

French company Sabella has reinstalled its 1MW tidal energy turbine off Ushant Island in France for a new long-term test campaign.

The campaign, which will supply Ushant island with green electricity, aims to prepare the PHARES project to supply the island with a range of renewable energies.

Deployed in the Fromveur Passage, the cable connecting the 1MW tidal energy turbine to land-based infrastructure was also replaced with new equipment, according to Sabella.

Sabella chartered the vessel Normand Superior, flying the Norwegian flag, to carry out the operation, which took place in the first half of April 2022, in particularly demanding weather conditions.

The successful reinstallation enabled the validation of a new connection system, completely redesigned in 2021. In addition, a new system for balancing electricity production on land will also be tested in full scale during this campaign, Sabella informed.

The export of electricity to the island’s power grid will take place gradually, in coordination with ENEDIS, while the standard production will start within a few weeks.

Benoît Bazire, chairman of Sabella’s board of directors, said: “This is the longest and most complex operation that Sabella has carried out to date, in particular due to the weather conditions. This is an important step for our company which will allow us to validate a number of technologies and continue to accumulate essential know-how for the future.”

Fanch Le Bris, CEO of Sabella, added: “It is in these difficult conditions that we learn the most, and I would like to thank the entire Sabella team and all of our subcontractors for their professionalism and efficiency, which enabled us to achieve all our objectives.”

The redeployment operation was made possible by Sabella’s network of partners with a view to future developments, including Inyanga, the offshore operator, MacArtney in charge of submarine connectors, Entech for electrical conversion, and others.

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