Alstom Hydro is planning to participate in the nascent tidal energy market in order to extend its reach and expertise in the renewable energy sector. It has signed a licensing co-operation agreement with Clean Current Power Systems Inc., a private Canadian firm specialising in the design and testing of tidal energy technology.
The agreement includes an exclusive worldwide license for Clean Current’s technology used in ocean and tidal stream applications. It also includes provisions for the two companies to cooperate in the development and demonstration of the technology.
Alstom is planning to commercialise its first tidal stream products by 2012 by leveraging its expertise in the hydro and wind energy sectors. “We are very excited about getting involved in this innovative renewable energy technology which is at the crossroads of hydro and wind technologies,” said Philippe Joubert, President of Alstom Power. “This will enable us to leverage our market leading hydro and wind technologies, and the experience we have gained in these fields.”
Joubert added: “We will be happy to provide an additional viable solution to our customers for meeting their renewable energy production targets and we look forward to government backing in order to further develop this new CO2-free technology.”
Alstom is hoping to capitalise on the worldwide potential for tidal energy, which the International Energy Agency puts at 100 TWh/year or three times the total consumption of Denmark.
Clean Current’s tidal technology consists of a horizontal axis ducted turbine with a direct drive variable speed permanent magnet generator. The turbine generator is equally efficient in both directions in order to fully utilise two-way tidal currents.
•SeaGen, Marine Current Turbines’ commercial scale tidal stream turbine, and the world’s first, demonstrated its capablities at the end of December when it reached its full generation capacity of 1.2 MW for the first time. This is the highest power so far produced by a tidal stream system anywhere in the world and exceeds the previous highest output of 300 kW produced in 2004 by Marine Current Turbines’ earlier SeaFlow system, off the north Devon coast. SeaGen works like an underwater windmill, with the rotors driven by the power of the tidal currents rather than the wind. It was deployed in Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough in May last year and since then has undergone commissioning trials. The device will nowl move towards full-operating mode, for periods of up to 22 hours a day, with regular inspections and performance testing undertaken as part of the project’s development programme.
