Top news, October 15 – 21, 2018

MarineEnergy.biz has compiled the top news from marine energy industry from October 15 – 21, 2018.


Sabella installs tidal turbine coupled with battery storage kit


French company Sabella has completed the reinstallation of its D10 tidal turbine in Fromveur Passage, near Ushant island, where the onshore battery storage system has also been set up to increase the grid stability.

The immersion of the optimized Sabella’s D10 tidal power turbine was completed on October 16, 2018, after which the 1MW-rated device started generating electricity to the island’s grid. The installation was carried out by the British company INYANGA-Tech, with the Norwegian vessel Far Superior of the Solstad Farstad fleet.

Sabella’s team will now focus on the reliability of D10 power production, and the validation of the machine’s performance curves. In parallel, numerous environmental studies on the marine environment will also be carried out.


Scotrenewables rebrands to Orbital Marine Power


Scotrenewables Tidal Power has launched a comprehensive company-wide rebranding to Orbital Marine Power, together with public debentures offer to support the buildout of its Orbital O2 tidal energy turbine.

The Orbital Marine name and corporate identity will carry through to subsidiaries, turbine products and services, and aligns with the company’s business and technology development strategy, the newly-rebranded company said.

The new name is inspired by the orbital cycle of the moon around the earth – the reliable provider of tidal energy, according to Orbital Marine.


Overhauled MeyGen turbine up for redeployment


One of the repaired Andritz Hydro Hammerfest (AHH) tidal turbines has been mobilized for reinstallation at the MeyGen tidal turbine array in the Pentland Firth, off Scotland.

Loaded onboard offshore construction vessel Seabed Stingray, owned by Swedish subsea operations provider Swire Seabed, the refitted 1.5MW tidal turbine is currently at the MeyGen tidal array location where it will be reinstalled and returned to service.

The subsea operations at an offshore site between Scotland’s northernmost coast and the island of Stroma, where the array is location, are scheduled to last until October 21, 2018, according to the notice issued to mariners.


Marine moorings to get load prediction fail-safe tool


Spanish companies and research centers have joined forces to design a durable load prediction technology to optimize the anchoring systems of marine renewable energy devices.

The project will seek to develop the PREDICARG solution that is based on an intelligent algorithm with several sensors, that – according to project developers – allows the collection of high precision data used to calculate the remaining ‘useful life’ of the floating marine structure and its anchoring system.

Therefore, PREDICARG is expected to minimize system failures and optimize service and maintenance operations on the devices, further contributing to the development of marine energy sector.


Rural Scots favor waves and tides the most


The independent survey, focused specifically on people living outside urban areas of Scotland, has found the population favors wave and tidal energy the most out of offered renewable energy options.

All renewable energy technologies enjoy high levels of support, according to the poll results, which show that rural Scots support the use of wave and tidal energy, as well as solar power, the most – 83%.

The survey, carried out by Survation, also found that eight in ten Scots living in rural areas (80%) think the next Scottish government should continue to develop renewable energy sources.