Drawing board to grid-connected in 6 months

The project partners are now planning the installation of a second, larger turbine which will double the platform’s output. Shortly after its launch this summer the platform’s new moorings passed their first serious tests with flying colours as two large storms passed over the area.

With the platform up and running smoothly, the project partners are now looking forward to the next step in its development. “We will install the next turbine – a Tocardo T2 – before the winter. This will double the platform’s capacity,” said Mr Van Hoeken. “A few months after that we will install a second T2 turbine. With two turbines working simultaneously this will double the capacity once again to reach the 400-500 kW mark. This means a proven solution is available on the market. In the meantime we will proceed to even larger units of 2.5 MW each”

“Getting the platform from the drawing board to a grid-connected operating reality in just 6 months is amazing,” says Allard van Hoeken, Head of New Energy at Bluewater Energy Services and recent recipient of the first Prince Friso Engineers Award. “The electricity production is conform expectations, the mooring loads are lower than expected and the stability is better than expected. It is a great success.”

“These units can supply clean energy to islands and remote locations below the cost of diesel generators. In addition, what the industry may only be starting to realise, is that they also pave the way towards large, utility-scale tidal farms. Starting with 500 kW units means using existing technology and a small grid setup, hence keeping the required investment and associated risks to a minimum. In the following step, our 2.5 MW units will be used for full development,” he said.

The BlueTEC platform serves as a demonstrator model. The platform’s ease of maintenance illustrates the advantages of a floating system perfectly: “It has been very easy to solve any issues we came across,”said Mr Van Hoeken. “We can reach the platform with a small boat, open the watertight door and enter the electronics room, fix and replace something and be back on land an hour later.”

Cooperative partners:

Bluewater Energy Services
Bluewater’s core business is to design, deliver and operate Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) systems and Single Point Mooring (SPM) systems. Bluewater’s New Energy department is the initiator and leading partner in the development of the BlueTEC Texel Tidal Project using the skills and experience of the core business.

Damen Shipyards Group
Damen’s role in the Texel tidal energy platform stems from its focus on standardisation and modular con-struction which leads to short delivery times, low ‘total cost of ownership’, high resale value and reliable performance. Furthermore, Damen products are based on thorough R&D and proven technology.

Van Oord
Van Oord is a leading contractor for dredging, marine engineering and offshore energy projects.

Because of the high current South of the Island Texel, installation of the platform and all of its components has been a challenge. Van Oord contributed with its expert knowledge and experience in the offshore industry to manage the installation of the mooring system, cable and platform in these challenging conditions.

TKF
TKF provided the Texel Tidal project with the complete scope of cable and connectivity solutions for the energy transmission from the platform towards the terminations on the mainland. TKF developed the sub-sea cable, including fiber-optics for communication and data control, the hang-off and bending restrictors and provided the engineering, delivering, installation and assembly of the all the components. From the generator towards linking the network, TKF provided the complete connection.

Acta Marine
Acta Marine is a worldwide market leader in the operation of coastal and shallow draft workboats. The company was established in 1970 and today it owns and operates over fifty different vessels, which are used for coastal water projects for a large variety of clients.

Tocardo
Tocardo is a leader in tidal energy, designing and producing tidal and free-flow water turbines and exporting them worldwide. Tocardo has delivered the initial T1 turbine and later in 2015 will provide a T2 turbine for the BlueTEC Texel Tidal project.

Schottel Hydro
In 2016 The BlueTEC Texel platform will be equipped with four Schottel Instream Turbines (SIT), producing grid-ready electric power. The SIT will be installed on an installation so it will produce energy in two directions. The Schottel Instream Turbine (SIT) is a lightweight and yet robust hydrokinetic turbine. While the Texel platform is aimed at remote locations to power villages, cooling facilities, lighting etc. The SIT is relative light, and therefor easier to handle in remote areas.

Global Maritime Vryhof Global Maritime
Vryhof provides High Holding Power Anchors, engineered products and services to the offshore Marine Renewable Energy and Oil & Gas Industry and can be described as the market leader in mooring solutions. Global Maritime Vryhof is proud to be part of the Texel Tidal Energy Project and have the possibility of transferring its Oil & Gas field knowledge to the BlueTEC modular tidal energy device. The main target was to design the smallest suitable anchors to maintain the tidal device in place – keeping it as efficient as possible in order to keep the costs to a minimum.

Royal NIOZ
NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research is the national oceanographic institute and is one of the institutes of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

The role of Royal NIOZ in the Texel Tidal energy project is primarily to perform research into the effects of the platform and turbine on various abiotic factors such as tidal currents, suspended sediment concentration and bathymetry around the platform, using Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers mounted beneath the platform and the NIOZ research vessels RV Navicula and RV Stern. In addition, Royal NIOZ will also analyse information about the wave structure.

Nylacast
Nylacast is a world leader in the design and manufacture of Polymers and Engineered Solutions to the Marine, Gas, Oil and Offshore sectors.

Nylacast was invited to form part of the collaboration supplying a ‘trumpet’, which acts as a liner within the mooring system. The Nylacast Liner works to effectively improve the mooring systems due to its high load bearing capability and low friction characteristics.

TTC Tidal Testing Centre
Tidal Testing Centre is an international test facility for marine energy systems. It provides high-speed open water facilities in two sluice gates of the Afsluitdijk in the Dutch Wadden Sea. For the Texel Tidal Energy project, TTC managed the permit process for a new offshore site near the island of Texel. In just under 6 months all permits were obtained.

Niron Staal
Niron Staal Amsterdam B.V. is a specialised steel construction and machining company. The Bluetec Platform was built at Niron Staal in a very short time thanks to our ‘EngineeringSmartScan’, which allowed us to cooperate with engineers from Bluewater and Damen at an early stage. Before and after the fabrication stage, we supervised the construction in order to minimise the production costs and to have the fastest turnaround time.

Port of Den Helder
For more than thirty years, operations and maintenance for the offshore sector have been based in Den Helder. On both a national and international scale, Port of Den Helder occupies an important position as the offshore supply base from which, on a daily basis, 135 production platforms and various drilling rigs in the Dutch sector of the North Sea receive deliveries of supplies and replacement crew members.

By Jake Frith