Magallanes ready for energy production tests

Spanish tidal energy developer Magallanes Renovables has completed all the necessary preparations for the beginning of energy generation trials on its floating tidal energy platform called Atir.

Magallanes Renovables informed it completed the assembly and connection of the energy generating equipment on its Atir platform, ahead of upcoming towing trials which are expected to start in the second half of December.

The company has also installed resistors that will dissipate the electricity produced during the trials at Vigo estuary as the platform is not connected to the grid.

Last month, Magallanes Renovables installed three blades on Atir’s stern rotor, and according to the company, the platform will generate around 600kW of power during trials which are expected to be completed by April 2018.

Mario Iglesias, Project Director at Magallanes Renovables, said: “We have been able to move the hub with three blades, and to check all systems to confirm that we are ready to start the towing tests and produce energy. The trials will begin in the following weeks, and we will make at least 20 tests in the next months. The objective is to optimize the platform and to achieve energy production in controlled environment.”

Before the mounting of tidal blades, the Atir platform underwent initial towing trial in the Vigo estuary to test the loads in the moorings, and according to Magallanes Renovables, the results have demonstrated the stability of the platform.

“These tests were important, because they allowed us to familiarize with the plaform in these conditions and to better prepare for the towing tests. Also, the tests enabled us to get more information about the mooring loads and to optimize the mooring design,” added Iglesias.

Atir’s tidal turbine blades span 19 meters in diameter, while the length of the platform itself reaches 42 meters, along with the weight of around 350 tonnes.

The platform is equipped with two-side oriented turbines with a total rated capacity of 2MW.

After the trials in Vigo, located in the Spanish region of Galicia, the platform will be moved to the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Scotland, as part of the Ocean 2G project, for additional trials that are expected to begin in July 2018 and last for one year.

The aim of the Ocean 2G project is to test, validate, and pre-certify Magallanes’ second generation (2G) tidal energy platform, and advance it towards commercialization.

In addition to Magallanes Renovables and EMEC, the Horizon 2020-backed Ocean 2G project also involves Leask Marine, and IM Future.

Note: The previous version of the article titled ‘Magallanes equips Atir platform for tidal generation’, based on Spanish media reports which stated that Magallanes Renovables installed all the blades on both rotors, was amended to include the official information provided by the company.