France pushes tidal energy in power plans

As the French government published its French Energy Strategy, the Publication Pluriannuelle de l’Energie (PPE), the association Ocean Energy said that in it were commercial tenders for 250MW of tidal energy capacity.

These will be awarded by 2030, and form ‘the last missing piece to trigger the industrialisation of the sector’, it says.

One potential project, Flowatt, is a large-scale flagship project by HydroQuest. Just off the northwest coast of Normandy, it is in one of Europe’s strongest tidal current zones, the Raz Blanchard, which is dubbed ‘the Saudi Arabia of tidal energy’.

Up to six large submerged tidal turbines mounted on the seabed will generate up to 17.5MW once installed.

The tidal energy awards follow the UK awarding 21MW of tidal energy in its AR7 auction round, which brings the total in the UK to 140MW.

“The first tidal pilot farms hit the water in 2015 and 2016 in Scotland, the Netherlands and France,” says Ocean Energy Europe (OEE). “Ten years later, the technology is ready for large-scale deployment. Several European champions have been waiting for the opportunity to develop their technology beyond those pilots at an industrial scale.

“The French government is finally giving the French tidal sector – and European supply chain – the visibility it needs to attract private investment and trigger industrialisation. Large-scale tenders will guarantee a return for investors, who have been waiting for such a signal.”

European tidal energy

Other European countries are bringing tidal energy on board, most notably in Denmark’s Faroe Islands, which has four – Dragon 12, Dragon 4, Hestfjord and Vestmanna – all by Minesto, ranging in generation capacity from 0.1MW to 40MW (the latter still in the planning stages).

These all use tidal kite technology, which are wing-shaped underwater devices tethered to the seabed that carry small turbines underneath. They are not still: they swim through the water in a figure-of-eight.

In the Netherlands, Tocardo is demonstrating its Oosterschelde 1.25MW barrier turbines – tidal power turbines that are installed directly into a dam or barrier structure, generating electricity as water flows through it.

Hammerfest Strøm, in Norway, is one of Europe’s earliest tidal stream pioneers and is operating its prototype, a 0.3MW horizontal-axis tidal stream ‘Kvalsund HS300’ turbine.

Finally, the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in the Orkney Islands tests and validates tidal energy devices in real sea conditions, providing grid connection, data, certification, and support to developers advancing commercial tidal power technology.