Sabella to retrieve D10 tidal turbine this summer

Sabella, a French-based tidal energy developer, plans to retrieve its D10 tidal turbine, deployed in Fromveur Passage, off Ushant island, this summer.

The company has revealed plans to retrieve the D10 tidal turbine for inspection, and to conduct technical, and other optimizations after a year of immersion in real sea conditions.

The gravity based foundation and the offshore export cable will not be retrieved, subject to ongoing administrative authorizations request, the company informed.

The 1 MW turbine, with a rotor diameter of 10 m and height of 17 m, weighing around 450 tonnes, was deployed in June, and connected to the Ushant island’s grid in November 2015.

From the connection to the grid, until February 2016, the turbine delivered around 70 MWh of electricity to Ushant island, according to Sabella.

The turbine has been producing limited amounts of power, due to the damage to the cable caused during the initial installation of D10, and the company hopes to replace that part of defective cable to conduct a new series of tests at turbine’s maximum power capacity.

The new testing campaign of Sabella’s D10 is being planned for the fall.

In the meantime, the company stated, the works are underway for the development of tidal energy farm in Fromveur Passage, now in collaboration with the French renewable energy company Akuo Energy.

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