French turbine manufacturer HydroQuest and its equity partner CMN (Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie) are to set up, commission, and connect the HydroQuest Ocean turbine generator to the grid at EDF’s Paimpol-Bréhat site in the spring of 2019.
The firms will provide details of their plans at ICOE 2018, a major worldwide event for Marine Renewable Energy to be held 12-14 June 2018 in Cherbourg, France.
HydroQuest and CMN have been developing an innovative demonstration project since 2016 for the marine turbine sector. Selected following the “Renewable energies at sea and pilot river turbine farms” call-for-projects, funded by the French government as part of its Investments in the Future Program and operated by Ademe, this project is expected to confirm the performance of the HydroQuest Ocean tidal turbine generator under real operating conditions, prior to international commercialization.
In a statement, Jean-François Simon, CEO of HydroQuest and Pierre Balmer, CEO of CMN said that after this project, the firms would like to implement commercial farms at high-potential sites in France and elsewhere around the world. Their goal is to reduce costs over the medium-term to reach a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) well under 100 €/MWh.
Currently being assembled at CMN workshops in Cherbourg, the HydroQuest Ocean marine turbine is 25m wide and 11m tall, and offers efficient hydrodynamic output with nominal power of 1 MW. The turbine has adjustable height: the unit will be developed with either one or two levels to adapt to the various depths of worldwide water resources.
The turbine will be finished by CMN workshops before the end of 2018, with installation planned in agreement with EDF at its Paimpol-Bréhat site starting in April 2019. Commissioning the turbine at EDF’s Paimpol-Bréhat site is scheduled for the spring of 2019 for an initial period of 12 months.
