Engineering news
The Perpetuus Tidal Energy Centre and tidal turbine makers Schottel Hydro and Tocardo Tidal Turbines are to partner on the development of a 30MW tidal energy project off the coast of the Isle of Wight.
The Perpetuus Tidal Energy Centre (PTEC), a joint venture between energy firm Perpetuus Energy and the Isle of Wight Council, said that the deployment of the Schottel Hydro and Tocardo turbines is a key step further towards delivery with full operations to commence from 2020.
The 30MW tidal energy project has already achieved received all the key consents earlier this year and also has a signed grid connection offer. The array of tidal turbines will be installed off of the southernmost point of the Isle of Wight to deliver a “reliable and predictable” source of electricity to the grid, said PTEC.
Mark Francis, project director at PTEC, said: “This is a major milestone for the project, which is of strategic importance to the UK’s tidal industry and will accelerate the growth of the sector as well as enable a continued cost reduction path for future tidal stream projects.”
Engineers are working on the optimal site layout and designs, taking into consideration the outputs of its Environmental Impact Assessment and consented envelope. Francis added: “These decisions will be finalised in due course, with onshore construction scheduled to begin next year.”
The array is also expected to create and safeguard hundreds of jobs and attract investment into the local economy.
The site was chosen as it experiences strong tides, with peak flow of up to 3.2m per second, a similar ebb and flood velocity, and bidirectional flow, which is useful for generating as much power as possible. It also experiences relatively few environmental and grid constraints.
Francis said the site does not see flow rates as high other sites, such as Pentland Firth in Scotland, but that it is “more representative of most sites in the world”.
Niels A. Lange, managing director from Schottel Hydro said: “It is a privilege to be part of the largest consented tidal stream energy project in England and Wales.
We will be spearheading this development through our UK subsidiary TidalStream, which has been active in this industry for over five years. One of the benefits of our Triton platform technology is the maximising of local manufactured content.
"For our demonstrator in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia – due to be installed next year – the local content will be in the order of 75%, bringing manufacturing jobs and benefits to the local community. We are constantly seeking ways to advance our technology and ensure it is fully commercialised for worldwide production. PTEC is the perfect opportunity for us to achieve this.”
Hans van Breugel, chief executive of Tocardo, said: “After having deployed our turbines at various sites in the Netherlands and operating these projects successfully, we feel confident to jointly realise this world leading multi-MW tidal energy farm at the Isle of Wight.