Tidal power project calls for investors

Unlike other prototypes of tidal power plants, Atlantisstrom says it is not a lift-type power plant with their disadvantages to fauna, hindrance of shipping and excessive costs, but rather a new, innovative, patented type of drag-rotor.

The test plant was installed in the Vestmanna Sund about 400 m off the island of Vagar. The test-plant consisted of one segment of the four segment designed series version.

The series version with a length of 20 meters and a diameter of 8 meters was tested by the TU Braunschweig in a flow channel and at the FU Berlin in a towage channel and the expected efficiency was calculated.

Atlantisstrom lists what it believes are the ‘decisive advantages’ of this system:

• Lower production and maintenance costs through a new patented and simple design plus inexpensive simple steel construction parts.

• The plant is fixed with a system of normal steel chains.

• Installation and dismounting can be performed with a system of chains only with the help of divers and normal tugs in nearly any depth.

• The device uses a folding mechanism to capture energy from both incoming and outgoing tide automatically without complex steering procedures. This means a full size four segment device will cost only about 2 million Euros including steelwork, generator, gearbox and frequency converters.

• Reduced risk to the environment in comparison to ‘windmill design tidal power plants’ due to the fact that the moving parts of Atlantisstrom only rotate at double the speed of the current.

For more details contact Dr. Kai-Ude Janssen at: info@atlantisstrom.de

By Jake Frith