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Subsea tidal turbine installed at EMEC Print E-mail
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Wednesday, 10 September 2008 17:05
OpenHydro Installer heading to site for first successful deploymentThe first tidal turbine to be installed directly onto the sea-bed at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland, was dropped into place today by Irish company OpenHydro. The subsea base and turbine were lowered onto the seabed at EMEC by the company-designed and custom-built heavy lift barge, the "OpenHydro Installer".

OpenHydro has invested €5m in this project which includes the design and development of this specialist equipment. It is, says the company, the world's first vessel to be built specifically for deploying full scale tidal turbines and the project has been supported by the Scottish Government through the WATES scheme.

Brendan Gilmore, Chairman, OpenHydro, said, "Being able to deploy tidal turbines in this manner turns a difficult and lengthy project of many months into a quick and cost-efficient single day operation. It is another major step forward in our technology development programme towards commercial tidal farms that produce energy at a highly economic cost."

Open-Centre Turbine being prepared for deployment in OrkneyJames Ives, Chief Executive, OpenHydro, said, "Our experience has shown us that the appropriate equipment for installing tidal turbines does not exist in the marine market and so in 2007 we took the decision to commission our own specialist tidal turbine deployment barge. This deployment approach lays the foundation for the cost effective installation of commercial tidal arrays"

The trials at EMEC have been supported by both Sustainable Energy Ireland and the Scottish Government.

OpenHydro has already won tenders to supply and install turbines to tidal sites in Nova Scotia, Canada and Alderney, Channel Islands. It has recently commenced the manufacture of its next generation 1MW Open-Centre Turbine, which will be deployed in Nova Scotia and Alderney. The turbines are being constructed at the company's Technical Centre in Greenore, Co Louth, Ireland.

The company has secured over €50m in funding since 2005 for the commercial development of its turbines.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 10 September 2008 17:10