Tri-nation agreement to take on tidal risks

A tri-nation deal between firms based in Ireland, France and the UK is expected to result in shared research technology designed to reduce risks faced by developers of renewable tidal and wave power schemes around north western European coastlines.

Known as MOREDATAS (Methods to Obtain Refined Environmental DATA from the Seas), the project will aim to address a variety of uncertainties faced by developers through the implementation of Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs), which are seabed mounted acoustic devices used to measure tidal currents and wave heights.

According to Tidal Energy Ltd, next generation ADCPs will be deployed at a number of sites, over the course of the project.

The five companies undertaking the project include Applied Renewables Research, DP Energy, Tidal Energy Ltd, Ecole Centrale de Nantes, and DynamOcean Sarl as the project coordinator.

David Fitzgerald, Chief Resource Officer with DP Energy and Project Engineer for the Fair Head Tidal Energy Park off the coast of County Antrim, said the outcome of the joint programme will be to reduce risk through the reduction of energy production uncertainty.

Fitzgerald said: “Our objective is to deliver more robust design data so that developers of ocean energy can move more quickly in determining the most efficient and appropriate technologies, to ascertain more clearly whether or not a site is right and to generally provide them with a more accurate picture of the environment in which they are investing. Data will be collected at a number of sites with varying conditions and innovative processing techniques will be developed to further reduce uncertainty.”

Work on the MOREDATAS project is scheduled to begin at the end of 2015.

Image: Tidal Energy Ltd/DeltaStream tidal device