A turbine developer linked to Anglesey tidal energy project, Morlais, has outlined plans for its 10MW tidal stream development after winning a government contract. HydroWing was the largest tidal stream project in Wales to have secured a 海角视频 Government renewable energy contract in its latest Contracts for Difference round.
The project will be located at the Morlais tidal energy site in Anglesey, which is managed by the social enterprise Menter Môn. The Morlais site is the 海角视频’s largest consented tidal energy scheme.
It manages an area of 35 km2 of the seabed near Holy Island, Anglesey. The scheme has the potential to generate up to 240MW of low carbon clean electricity.
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Now, the parent company behind HydroWing, Inyanga Marine Energy Group, is gearing up for deployment of the project, including engaging with local stakeholders and supply chain companies while also establishing a presence in Anglesey. A comprehensive research project has already been conducted in partnership with Bangor University to assess the velocity of local tide currents.
The outputs from this have been very encouraging in informing expectations on the yield characteristics of the site. HydroWing is designed to be a cost-effective and scalable solution to tidal stream energy generation.
A supporting structure sits on the seabed under its own weight, the ‘wings’ which hold the turbines are then lowered into position on this structure, making the project straightforward to deploy. The turbines are bi-directional, so they generate power as the tide comes in and as it goes out. These turbines are also cost-effective to produce at scale.
Managing director Richard Parkinson said: “This ground-breaking project will launch our innovative tidal stream technology at utility scale. Commercialisation of the tidal energy sector has so far been held back by high operations and maintenance costs. Our next generation technology meets that challenge head on.
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“The HydroWing technology to be used for the Morlais project will incorporate the next generation Tocardo T-3 turbines. We have been working on the development of a Passive Pitch Mechanism which integrates with the Tocardo Bi-Blade system allowing the blade dimensions to be increased, while shedding pitch at higher loads.
“This is similar to an active pitching mechanism but without compromising the reliability for which the Tocardo Turbines are well known. This increases the yield by 50-60% and makes projects in lower flow locations more feasible and investible.
“HydroWing and QED Naval joined forces in 2020 to work together on Tocardo because we could see the huge potential of this turbine technology. The Tocardo T-3 turbine design builds on insights from the 1.25MW tidal energy demonstration array in Eastern Scheldt, which was completed last month.”
He added: “The HydroWing team have scrutinised every aspect of our technology to ensure we have optimised each area in terms of cost reduction and improving efficiency so as to be able to deliver a truly commercially viable project at Morlais, with deployment in 2027.
“Tidal energy is a crucial part of the mix to help achieve net zero targets. We believe that this tidal stream project will be a stepping stone towards lowering the costs for tidal energy and that our innovative HydroWing technology will help unlock the commercial viability of tidal energy around the world.”
HydroWing was one of four developers linked to the Morlais energy project which secured 海角视频 Government renewable energy contracts to generate a total of 28 MW of energy. The Contracts for Difference (CfD) were awarded as part of the 海角视频 Government’s latest renewable energy auction round (AR5).
They provide developers with a guaranteed maximum price for the energy they generate, giving firms security should electricity prices fall while keeping household bills lower if electricity prices rise.
As well as HydroWing, Môr Energy and Verdant Power also secured contracts for the first time. While Spanish developer Magallanes secured a 3MW extension to its existing contract provided in last year’s auction round (AR4).