A flagship EU tidal energy project will use turbines developed by Orbital Marine Power.
The pioneering Scottish firm will lead development of the Euro-Tides 9.6MW multi-turbine array, it announced today (25 October). The company is evaluating multiple sites for the four-turbine array, a spokesperson told Professional Engineering, but it is planning on deploying in UK waters.
The European Commission Horizon project will focus on accelerating commercial deployment of Orbital’s floating tidal stream technology. The work will also include expertise from Ocean Energy Europe, Laborelec, Marasoft, the European Marine Energy Centre (Emec), the Centre for Wind Power Drives (CWD) of RWTH Aachen University, Energie De La Lune, and the University of Edinburgh.
Euro-Tides “will deliver a step change in the wider commercialisation programme for the scale deployment of Orbital’s leading technology, through targeted work to demonstrate manufacturing solutions compatible with series production [and] optimisation of long-term operation and maintenance programmes, while also accumulating accelerated operational performance data around Orbital’s technology,” the company said.
The project also aims to advance commercial-scale tidal projects in French waters, to augment Orbital’s existing commercial project portfolio in the UK and overseas.
The European Commission has identified that transitioning from single turbine deployments to multi-turbine arrays is the next important milestone for the tidal stream sector, as it moves towards contributing towards net zero targets in the UK, EU and beyond with predictable and reliable electricity generation.
Orbital CEO Andrew Scott said: “Orbital is committed to ensuring tidal stream energy makes a material contribution to decarbonising energy systems while supporting a just transition through the creation of a new industrial sector. The endorsement that comes from this selection is a huge boost to that objective, while also enabling us, and our project partners, to accelerate that positive vision. We are looking forward to moving forwards with Euro-Tides at pace early in 2024.”
Extracted from IMechE website - read more here