Top news, October 8 – 14, 2018

MarineEnergy.biz has compiled the top news from marine energy industry from October 8 – 14, 2018.

Minesto generates first Deep Green tidal power

Swedish developer Minesto has achieved initial electricity generation with its first commercial-scale marine energy kite during the commissioning program of its Deep Green low-flow tidal energy project in Wales.

The first 500kW utility-scale system of Minesto’s patented Deep Green technology has been commissioned at the Holyhead Deep site off the coast of North Wales, according to Minesto.

The company also said it entered the second commissioning phase and achieved initial electricity generation from the kite.

CorPower ends Scottish wave demonstration with flying colors

After 18 months of combined dry and ocean testing of C3 wave energy converter, CorPower Ocean completed the demonstration of the device achieving the results said to support a step-change improvement in survivability and competitiveness of wave energy.

By verifying the ability to solve the two major challenges for wave energy – storm survivability combined with significant power production – a major demonstration milestone has been completed, according to Swedish developer CorPower Ocean.

The measured power production of the half-scale C3 device in the ocean was consistent with the expectations from simulation models and prior dry testing with simulated waves, CorPower said.

HACE device sinks under French waves

Wave energy prototype, developed by the French company Hydro Air Concept Energy (HACE), has partially sunk during the trials in Biscay Bay in western France.

The 50kW wave energy prototype, commissioned on August 31, 2018, experienced a setback earlier in the week when it got partially submerged at its deployment location in the Atlantic Port of La Rochelle.

HACE, in cooperation with the port and marine services provider Atlantic Scaphandre, conducted the underwater inspection on the device to determine the cause of the ‘incident’.

Four river turbines all set for installation in Lyon

The HydroQuest-Hydrowatt consortium has assembled four hydrokinetic turbines in the Port of Lyon in eastern France, ahead of their installation in the River Rhône planned for later in October.

The four turbines, with the combined capacity of 320kW, will this month be transported by river and installed at Caluire-et-Cuire in Lyon, before the commissioning and grid-connection operation expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The project, selected by French navigation authority in charge of country’s inland waterways Voies navigables de France (VNF) in 2015 through a public call, will produce 1GWh of clean electricity annually which equals the energy consumption of around 400 homes, the developers said.

Hydrokinetic turbines power on with minimal impacts on rivers

Hydrokinetic turbine arrays can efficiently generate energy with minimal impacts to the shape and behavior of river channels, opening up the possibility for more sustainable energy production in large rivers with active sediment transport, according to the new University of Minnesota study.

The study, published in Nature Energy and conducted at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL) at the University of Minnesota, involved deploying an array of 12 model hydrokinetic turbines in a quasi-field-scale laboratory channel measuring 85 meters in length.

The results obtained from testing suggest that opportune siting of the hydrokinetic turbine arrays can generate clean with minimal impacts to river ecosystems, and also to the turbines themselves.