Perpetuus Tidal Energy Centre (PTEC) has announced major partnerships with global tidal turbine manufacturers Schottel Hydro GmbH and Tocardo Tidal Turbines.
The 30 MW project, to be created off the southern tip of the Isle of Wight, will allow long-term operation of Schottel Hydro and Tocardo turbine arrays, simultaneously optimising their performance and delivering reliable electricity to the grid.
Full operation expected by 2020
The transformational tidal energy generation project, which achieved all key project consents earlier this year and has a signed grid connection offer, is now a step further towards delivery, with full operations to commence from 2020.
Perpetuus Tidal Energy Centre – with its consortium partner, the Isle of Wight Council – is also expected to create and safeguard hundreds of jobs and attract significant investment into the local economy, building on the success of the existing British marine and offshore wind sectors.
Identifying optimal site layout
‘We are very pleased to announce that Tocardo and Schottel Hydro are partnering with us to deliver 30 MW of predictable electricity generated from the tidal currents to the south of the Isle of Wight,’ says Perpetuus’s project director Mark Francis.
‘We are currently working with Schottel Hydro and Tocardo to identify the optimal site layout and designs, taking into consideration the outputs of our Environmental Impact Assessment and consented envelope,’ continues Francis. ‘These decisions will be finalised in due course, with onshore construction scheduled to begin next year.’
Maximising locally manufactured content
‘We will be spearheading this development through our UK subsidiary TidalStream Ltd, which has been active in this industry for over five years,’ adds Niels A. Lange, Managing Director at German-based Schottel Hydro.
‘One of the benefits of our Triton platform technology is the maximising of local manufactured content,’ continues Lange. ‘For our demonstrator in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia – due to be installed next year – the local content will be in the order of 75%, bringing manufacturing jobs and benefits to the local community.’
Commercialising offshore tidal solutions
‘Engaging with PTEC is a significant step in the commercialisation process of Tocardo’s standard offshore tidal solution, the UFS,’ says Hans van Breugel, CEO of Tocardo, based in the Netherlands. ‘After having deployed our turbines at various sites in the Netherlands and operating these projects successfully, we feel confident to jointly realise this world leading multi-MW tidal energy farm at the Isle of Wight.’