The tidal test future Paimpol-Bréhat park underway

[freddau]

The assembly of the tidal turbine intended for the tests of the future experimental park of EDF in Paimpol-Bréhat is in progress on the DCNS site in Brest. Supplied by OpenHydro, this structure will be submerged before the end of the summer by a new tidal laying barge, built by the STX shipyards in Lorient. Yesterday, the first elements of the tidal turbine, assembled in basin No. 9, were officially presented to the stakeholders of the Project Liaison Group (elected officials, users and professionals of the sea, environmental protection associations, etc.) ..) thus united for the 10th time since September 2008, in the presence of elected representatives of Brest and authorities of the French Navy.

STX Lorient delivers the installation barge

EDF selected OpenHydro for the supply of tidal turbines for the Paimpol-Bréhat park. This Irish company is currently building the turbine in Dublin, which will be delivered in July to Brest. DCNS, shareholder of OpenHydro, was entrusted with the realization of the support structure of the tidal turbine, its blades in composite materials as well as the assembly of the various sub-assemblies which will constitute the tidal turbine, by the August. At the same time, OpenHydro commissioned STX Lorient to install a tidal turbine installation barge. Ordered in July 2010 and christened OpenHydro-Triskell, this barge, 58 meters long and 35 meters wide, was delivered on June 28 by STX in Lorient, then transferred to the DCNS site in Brest.
Once the assembly is complete and the tests have been carried out at the quay, the tidal turbine will be transported by barge to the Paimpol-Bréhat site to be submerged there in late August - early September. This test turbine will not be connected to the network and will be recovered in October 2011. The objective of EDF is to validate the installation procedures using the barge, to learn lessons from the test turbine during this first experience and thus prepare for the establishment of the complete fleet next year.

http://www.meretmarine.com/article.cfm?id=116776

[moinsdewatt]

GDF Suez wants to develop in tidal power in France

June 20, 2012 Usine Nouvelle

GDF Suez will position itself in the tidal power generation sector in France, with two projects under study.

Through its subsidiary Eole Generation, the French energy company is studying the installation of underwater turbines in two areas of strong sea currents, in Brittany and Lower Normandy, he said in a press release published on Wednesday.

In 2015, a first pilot park of 3 to 6 machines produced by the German Voith Hydro, with a total power of 3 to 12 megawatts (MW), would see the light of day on the promising site of Raz Blanchard, in the Manche. If the experiment proves conclusive, it could lead to the installation of a hundred tidal turbines.

The passage du Fromveur, in Finistère, also subject to strong sea currents, has also been selected by GDF Suez to install another park by 2016.

The Raz Blanchard and the Passage du Fromveur alone concentrate 80% of the potential for exploiting ocean currents in France, according to data from Ifremer (French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea).

Fully renewable, tidal power also has the comparative advantage, especially compared to wind turbines, of having very predictable production levels because of the regular movement of the tides.

By seeking to settle in this segment, GDF Suez comes directly to compete with its rival EDF, which installed at the end of August 2011 off the island of Bréhat (Côtes d'Armor) the first tidal turbine in the world at the end of August 2011, built by the Irish company OpenHydro.

French sites of interest, very localized, should therefore be subject to strong competition. The DCNS shipyards, associated with EDF on the Bréhat project and shareholders of OpenHydro have already carried out a feasibility study on the Raz Blanchard area.

DCNS also signed an agreement in March with the Norman Ports for the installation in Cherbourg by 2018 of a large-scale turbine production site.

The former Minister of Industry, Eric Besson presented in March a roadmap for the development of tidal turbines, potentially creating jobs.

http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/gd ... ce.N177034

[moinsdewatt]

Alstom: full power of the 1 MW tidal turbine in real conditions

August 23, 2013 enerzine

After a gradual ramp-up since its immersion in January 2013 in the waters of the European Marine Energy Center (EMEC *) off the Orkney Islands (Scotland), the Alstom tidal turbine has reached its full power of 1 MW, and generated more than 10 MWh of electricity on the network under actual operating conditions.

The tidal turbine has been tested under different conditions as part of the ReDapt ** test program. She showed an outfit and performance in accordance with her design model. The purpose of the next step will be to test the operating capabilities of the turbine independently (its ability to position itself optimally), to validate maintenance operations and to collect performance data for the certification of the machine. The endurance and reliability of the machine will be subject to additional tests which will continue until 2014. Pilot farm tests will take place before the start of commercial production.



"We are very satisfied with the first tests carried out on our tidal turbine which have successfully demonstrated the advantages of Alstom's technology in the particularly demanding environment of the Fall of Warness marine site in Orkney," said Rob Stevenson, vice -President of Alstom for Marine Energies.

The Alstom tidal turbine weighs less than 150 tonnes and is equipped with a 22 meter long nacelle, with a diameter of 18 meters, its rotor has three blades with variable pitch. The tidal turbine is able to float. This allows easy deployment and recovery from the pre-installed foundation at sea. By avoiding the use of specialized vessels or divers, this particular technique makes it possible to reduce the costs and the duration of installation and maintenance operations. Alstom's tidal turbine operates completely submerged, about 40 meters deep, and is oriented so as to face the tidal current at an optimal angle, in order to extract the maximum of the site's energy potential .

* EMEC: European Marine Energy Center
** The ReDapt (Reliable Data Acquisition Platform for Tidal) testing program is implemented and co-funded by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI), as part of a consortium.

http://www.enerzine.com/7/16121+alstom- ... lles+.html

[moinsdewatt]

Project for an experimental tidal turbine farm in the Bay of Fundy (Canada)

22 Avril 2015 enerzine

OpenHydro, a subsidiary of DCNS specializing in tidal turbines, has just received $ 6,3 million in funding from the SDTC (Sustainable Development Technology Canada) for its experimental turbine farm project in the Bay of Fundy (Canada).

This funding should contribute to the optimization of the tidal technology developed by OpenHydro to make it a product ready to be marketed.

"We are extremely grateful to SDTC for supporting the development of the 4MW tidal turbine experimental farm that we will be installing in 2015 in Canada. OpenHydro is proud that its tidal turbine technology was the first installed in the Bay of Fundy and we are convinced of the region's potential for the development of this clean, renewable energy source. This project represents an important step in the construction of an industrial tidal stream sector in Nova Scotia and the development of commercial farms " namely James Ives, CEO of OpenHydro.

The tidal current exploitation project in the Bay of Fundy, at the FORCE test center, is materialized by a set of turbines, which will simulate the cost and performance of a tidal power plant under difficult conditions.

In the Bay of Fundy, the amplitude of the tide is more than 16 meters, the strongest in the world. It could therefore provide renewable electrical energy to thousands of homes. In addition, the marine conditions in the Bay of Fundy are clearly among the harshest in the world: "converting the movement of water into electrical energy there in a cost-effective manner is therefore a real engineering challenge."

OpenHydro plans to install a battery of two turbines of 2 MW each at the FORCE test center located in the bay to demonstrate what the cost and performance of a tidal turbine park would be.

The project will assess the effects of turbine spacing and determine flow control strategies, connections and cabling. Designed for the harsh conditions that characterize the Bay of Fundy, the turbines will both rest on a gravity base fixed to the sea floor. Each will be able to produce 2 MW at a cost of 14,7 cents per KWh by 2020.

http://www.enerzine.com/7/18342+projet- ... nada+.html

[moinsdewatt]

Brest names the tidal turbine that will power Ouessant

LE MONITEUR.FR - Published on 24/04/15


Sabella - Aerial view of the Sabella D10 tidal turbine in the port of Brest.

The 450-ton craft will be submerged in mid-June off the island of Ouessant, in Brittany. The Sabella D10 will be the first French tidal turbine to produce electricity and to be connected to the grid.

From its height of 17 meters, the height of a 5-storey building, it is the star of the port of Brest. Baptized Friday, April 24, it is presented to the public the next day, during an open day. After the last adjustments, it will then be immersed in June in the legendary passage of Fromveur, seat of major currents. A submarine cable will be installed beforehand between the dumping area and the south coast of Ouessant and this tidal turbine will be the first to be connected to the network. The regularity of the production and the quality of the signal will be checked by EDF SEI and ERDF, the network managers, who will progressively analyze the coupling of this marine energy to the diesel generators which until now have supplied the island with electricity.

In addition to feedback from the tidal turbine (with a theoretical power of 1 MW), an environmental monitoring protocol has been defined with the Iroise Marine Natural Park. The objective is to validate the environmental harmlessness of the machine vis-à-vis marine fauna and mammals, sediment transport or even underwater acoustic emergence. This demonstration is a crucial step to validate the continued hydrokinetic exploitation of Fromveur. Ultimately, two other turbines could be plunged between Molène and Ouessant to cover almost all of Ouessant's electricity needs.

Built in Quimper, the Sabella D10 tidal turbine was assembled in Brest, on the 5th East as a prelude to the new vocation of the port which aims to become a major player in marine renewable energies (ENR). Recently, the administrative court indeed approved the conclusions of the report of the commission of inquiry on the development project of the port of Brest turned towards the ENR. Without reservation, the opinion includes two environmental recommendations. The work authorization order, issued by the Prefect of Finistère, is expected for summer 2015; environmental preparatory work and business consultation will then follow in the fall of 2015, followed by the actual development work in the spring of 2016.

http://www.lemoniteur.fr/article/brest- ... t-28381592

[moinsdewatt]

The Sabella tidal turbine submerged 55 meters deep in the Iroise Sea

25 June 2015 New Factory

Successful operation for the company Sabella based in Quimper (Finistère). It has just positioned its tidal turbine named Sabella D10 at 55 meters deep in the so-called Fromveur area, located between the mainland and the island of Ouessant (Finistère). Chartered by the German company Combi Lift, the boat called Le Palembang, 133 meters long, was responsible for transporting the tidal turbine from a weight of 450 tonnes for a height of 17 meters to its place of immersion.

The Sabella D10 will now be connected to the electrical network of Ouessant Island by a 200m long submarine cable. Thanks to the power of the incessant currents in this part of the Iroise Sea, it can produce up to 1 megawatt electricity. This tidal turbine should stay a year at the bottom of the sea, the time for Sabella to test its resistance and the effects of its functioning on underwater flora and fauna.

Soon a tidal farm

In the next three to four years, it is planned to install a tidal turbine farm in Fromveur made up of two to three machines which will guarantee Ouessant its virtual energy autonomy. Directed and controlled by Jean-François Daviau, Sabella has been working on her tidal turbine project for a decade. 13 million euros have been invested in R&D work and the development of the Sabella D10.

The company was supported by the Investments for the Future program with 3,6 million euros.

The manager is preparing a new fundraising of 5 to 6 million euros to continue his work. In the medium term, it plans to invest in its own tidal turbine assembly plant in the port of Brest (Finistère).

http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/l- ... se.N338215

I have not attached the photo of Usine Nouvelle which obviously does not correspond with the Sabella in question.

here it is :

http://www.ouest-france.fr/energies-mar ... st-3491791



http://renews.biz/90801/sabella-primed- ... al-launch/

......

Loaded with sensors, such as hydrophones, current meters and cameras, the turbine will also make it possible to learn more about its impact on marine fauna. The data will be analyzed by Ifremer, the Océanopolis marine center or the Iroise Marine Natural Park.
......

http://lexpansion.lexpress.fr/actualite ... 93357.html




http://www.ouest-france.fr/au-large-dou ... ur-3511399

[moinsdewatt]

Sabella to equip the Philippines with its tidal turbines

By Pierre Monnier - Usine Nouvelle on October 27, 2015

Sabella has just signed an agreement with H & WB to equip a tidal turbine farm in the Philippines. A specialist in the sector, the Breton SME will develop its new tidal turbine model, the D15, before installation at the end of 2017 in the San Bernardino Strait, in the north of the country.

The French specialist in tidal turbines is clearly very active in Asia. After signing a partnership with Indonesia in February, Sabella has just reached an agreement for a project in the Philippines with H & WB, a local project developer. The Breton SME will supply three to four tidal turbines by the end of 2017 to provide a power of 5 megawatts (MW) in the San Bernardino Strait in the east of the country.


Feedback to move forward
This summer, Sabella had successfully deployed a D10 tidal turbine in the Fromveur area, between the mainland and the island of Ouessant in Brittany. It is from this experience that the SME will support its research to develop the D15, its new model of tidal turbine. "The D15 has not yet been deployed, we are awaiting feedback from the D10 set up at Fromveur", explains Jean-Christophe Allo, Sabella's economic development manager.

In 2016, Sabella will be in the engineering phase and will study the different aspects of setting up a tidal turbine farm in the Philippines. Once the viability of the project has been validated, the construction and installation of the tidal turbines will begin with an objective of commissioning at the end of 2017 at most, according to Jean-Christophe Allo. "These are forecasts at the latest, the development of the tidal turbine can be rapid and the delivery date could very well advance by six months".

A possibility of 300 to 500 MW
H & WB has three concessions in the San Bernardino Strait. By allying with this local promoter, Sabella has ensured a well-filled order book. "The sites owned by H & WB can accommodate cumulatively installations producing between 300 and 500 megawatts", affirms Jean-Christophe Allo. If the project bears fruit, the head of economic development affirms that "it will carry the company in the very long term, between 10 and 20 years".

But the 12-person SME keeps its feet on the ground: "It is not because the site can accommodate several hundred megawatts that they will be installed". Sabella remains dependent on the incentives of the Philippine government which will not invest in a power capacity greater than its needs. "Everything will depend on the power required to supply the whole area", indicates Jean-Christophe Allo. Sabella nevertheless plans to increase the power of the site in steps from 10 to 20 MW.

Many projects to come
Jean-Christophe Allo hopes that the San Bernardino project will wake up Indonesia: "We have no date for the moment but everything can go very quickly". A contract with Engie will allow the commissioning of two to three D15 tidal turbines in the Fromveur area. This project will guarantee virtual energy autonomy on the island of Ouessant. "The schedule does not allow us to say whether the first D15 will be installed in France or in the Philippines," he explains.

This Thursday, Jean-François Daviau, the boss of Sabella, and Jean-Christophe Allo will fly to Canada. "We have been following the Canadian market for three years now, it is a developed market similar to that of France", specifies the head of business development. "We hope to equip Inuit villages in the far north of Quebec". For the time being, electricity is supplied by generators which induce pollution and a high energy cost. For Sabella, these issues form the market of tomorrow: tidal turbines with a capacity of 15 to 20 MW.

http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/sa ... es.N359348

[moinsdewatt]

Sabella tidal turbine supplies its first kWh to Ouessant, a first in France

AFP 06 November 2015

The tidal turbine submerged in June off Ouessant (Finistère) injected its first kilowatt-hours into the island's electricity grid on Friday, "a first in France", the directors of the company Sabella told AFP. the origin of the project. "It's a historic day, it's a first in France, the start of marine energies for citizens and consumers, "said Jean-François Daviau, head of the SME based in Quimper.

The D10 tidal turbine was submerged on June 25 by 55 meters deep off Ouessant, transforming the energy of the powerful currents of Fromveur into electricity. On October 21, the machine was connected to the island by a cable, but the energy was not yet connected to the network while waiting for the last tests before the injection which took place Thursday at 23 p.m.

"We are going to ramp up, for the moment we are limited to 50 kilowatts, we prefer not to inject too much energy to analyze what is happening, we are going in stages", explained Jean-Christophe Allo , Project Manager. The size of a five-storey building, weighing 400 tonnes, this first industrial tidal turbine, 100% French manufacturing, must cover 15% of the electricity needs of Ouessant and its 800 inhabitants.

Sabella plans to immerse two or three other more powerful machines by 2019, still in the Fromveur current, as part of a pilot farm intended to cover 50 to 70% of the Ouessantins' needs. The island has never been connected to the mainland by an electric cable, the energy being produced by an oil-fired power station. "It's important, it's the first step before decarbonizing energy in Ouessant," said Denis Palluel, the mayor of the island.

"Ouessant has become a showcase, delegations came to see what we were doing, like people from the great Canadian north, but beyond the showcase, what interests us is the local project, even if we are happy to serve as a showcase for Sabella, "he added.

http://www.connaissancedesenergies.org/ ... nce-151106

[moinsdewatt]

DCNS and EDF launch the first tidal turbine of the Paimpol-Bréhat project

By Manuel Moragues - Usine Nouvelle on January 20, 2016

Successful immersion. DCNS and EDF have announced that they have launched the first tidal turbine from the Paimpol-Bréhat demonstrator at nearly 40 meters deep. What prepare the future raz Blanchard park.



It will be the world's first tidal turbine farm. "Firm", because there will be two machines, built by Openhydro, a subsidiary of DCNS. The first was submerged at a depth of nearly 40 meters on Wednesday, January 20, off Ploubazlanec, in the Côtes-d'Armor, DCNS and EDF announced today.

This is the first stage of the Paimpol-Bréhat tidal turbine demonstrator project led by EDF. "The launch was scheduled for December, but bad weather and the limited number of windows of favorable tidal currents pushed back the installation," said a spokesperson for DCNS.

DCNS tidal turbine measures 16 meters in diameter and weighs around 850 tonnes. Launching in the short time between two tides is a critical step, especially from an economic point of view in view of the transition from tidal turbines to commercial production.

DCNS has developed a dedicated barge with an innovative gripper system. "The teams were able to launch the turbine in less than an hour," said EDF and DCNS.

The convoy, consisting of the tidal turbine on its barge, a tug and an operations support ship, left the port of Brest (Finistère) on January 15.

The next step will concern the connection of the turbine to the network before the installation of the second machine, scheduled for spring, for connection before summer. "This demonstrator will allow us to validate our technologies, and in particular the interconnection of tidal turbines to the submarine converter", explains a spokesperson for the group. The two turbines will each produce 0,5 megawatt, enough to power 1000 coastal residents, says DCNS.

Second demonstrator in the Bay of Fundy

These are the same turbines that will be installed, normally in 2018, at the raz Blanchard, off the Cotentin, for the Normandie Hydro project. This project, still with EDF, was awarded the call for expressions of interest from the Environment and Energy Management Agency (Ademe), in December 2014 - Alstom and Engie form the other consortium winner.

It will include seven machines which, thanks to the very strong currents prevailing in this area, should each generate 2 MW of electricity.

The Paimpol-Bréhat demonstrator, where the currents are weaker, must make it possible to prove the resistance of the machine-converter system to the strong Breton swell. A second demonstrator, in the Bay of Fundy, in Canada, where the sea is calmer, will be used to test the operation of the turbines in currents comparable in speed to those of the Raz Blanchard. A first machine out of the two planned should be installed there in the spring. For the moment, the berry is frozen.

http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/dc ... at.N374765

[moinsdewatt]

Tidalys offers low cost renewable marine energy

15 fev 2016 enerzine

The Tidalys company has designed a range of turbines which presents a "breakthrough" in terms of improving performance, reducing operating costs and allowing for an unequaled cost of producing electricity.
The floating tidal turbines developed by Tidalys are indeed able to align automatically in the direction of the currents, and to recover energy continuously from sea currents.

As Tidalys specifies on its site, "tidal power uses the variations in current and level of seas and oceans created by lunar cycles. Thus, this source of energy is infinite, highly predictable and renewable." While wind power is subject to uncertain wind conditions, tidal power is constant and highly predictable. Studies clearly show that there is a significant tidal energy potential located in several areas on the planet.

Toujous according to Tidalys, its turbines make it possible to generate renewable electricity for a production cost divided by two in comparison with off-shore wind power and with a minor visual impact. In addition, acquisition, installation and maintenance costs are significantly reduced thanks to the simplified access to the floating structure and the location of all the electrical components out of the water.

The Tidalys offer offers the following characteristics:

♦ Floating machines to optimize energy generation and reduce total implementation costs;

♦ Optimized use of high-tech materials (such as carbon) so as to reduce production costs;

♦ Installation and connection to the electrical network requiring no particular vessel or the intervention of divers;

♦ The ease of maintenance and repair making it possible to significantly reduce operating costs;

♦ Access to electrical components simplified and out of the water in order to increase reliability;

♦ An energy efficient rotor;

♦ A reliable transmission chain based on proven components.
....................

http://www.enerzine.com/7/19074+tidalys ... cout+.html



Electrimar 4200 with lowered rotor


Electrimar 4200 with raised rotor

http://emr-brest.e-monsite.com/pages/hydrolien.html