Top news, October 1 – 7, 2018

MarineEnergy.biz has compiled the top news from marine energy industry from October 1 – 7, 2018.


Sabella braces D10 for October tides

French tidal energy company Sabella has completed the optimization works on its 1MW tidal energy turbine which stands ready in the Port of Brest for this month’s deployment off Ushant island.

The turbine has been ready for deployment back to Fromveur Passage – where it was installed for the first time in 2015 – since early September 2018, according to Jean-Christophe Allo, Business Development Manager for Sabella.

The maintenance works on the D10 tidal turbine were conducted as part of the optimization process for the turbine ahead of its three-year deployment, for which Sabella secured the permit from French authorities.


Tocardo’s five-turbine tidal array up for ‘quick fix’

The 1.25MW tidal turbine array at the Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier, developed by Dutch company Tocardo Tidal Power, is being restored to its full capacity after one of the turbines suffered minor damage which caused it to operate at reduced output.

One of the blades on one T2 turbine performed at reduced output, producing only half the energy of its normal performance, as it was hit by a large object – probably a tree trunk – during the operation of a five-turbine array, according to Holland Composites, the manufacturer of the blades in charge of the inspection.

The turbine power blades have been running for 3 years non-stop, and aside from the minor damage, are still working ‘perfect’ and ‘have no noticeable wear or tear’, Holland Composite informed.


Basques open €500,000 marine renewables demo call

The Basque energy agency Ente Vasco de la Energía (EVE) has launched a call for marine renewable energy demonstration projects that will be funded under the state aid program for renewable energy development.

The priority goal of EVE’s €2.5 million aid program, running from 2018-2020, is to promote projects for the demonstration and validation of emerging marine renewable energy technologies within the autonomous community of the Basque Country.

The funding allocated for 2018 has been set to €500,000 that will be awarded to companies as nonrefundable experimental development R&D subsidies, while the remaining €2 million will be invested over the next two years.


OPERA wave device starts second round of BiMEP trials

The refitted Marmok-A5 device has been installed in the Bay of Biscay, off the north coast of Spain, for the second round of open-sea trials as part of EU-funded OPERA wave energy project.

Following the successful open-sea testing of the baseline configuration for two consecutive winters at Biscay Marine Energy Platform (BiMEP), the refurbished Marmok-A5 floating oscillating water column (OWC) device was redeployed at the same site on October 4, 2018, for another set of tests.

The modified wave energy configuration, serviced at the engineering company Navacel, will be in the water for approximately another year to gather valuable data for the assessment of long term cost reductions, according to OPERA project.


Albany wave milestone payment comes with government terms

The government of Western Australia has agreed to pay Carnegie Clean Energy the previously negotiated milestone payment for the Albany wave energy scheme, requesting at the same time the delivery of detailed funding plan for the project from the Australian developer.

The negotiated revised first milestone payment of Au$2.6 million will be payed to Carnegie, which has, in addition to payment confirmation, received a request from the government to provide a detailed funding plan for the project in nine weeks’ time.

Upon the plan delivery, the state government will then assess whether the company has the financial capability, in an altered Federal R&D tax incentive environment, to complete the Albany Wave Energy Project (AWEP).