Ocean kinetics - Tidal Energy

For each geographic location, optimized solutions are designed. These include marine water bulb turbines that exploit the tidal lift in bays or estuaries, tidal stream turbines on the sea floor near the coast that make use of the underwater tidal streams, and offshore applications such as “tidal lagoons”.

Ocean-based electrical energy production

Tidal power plants

Tidal power plants are saltwater applications and typically use an existing natural bay blocked with a dam. In 2012 the world largest tidal power plant Sihwa (10 x 26 MW) was inaugurated in South Korea. ANDRITZ Hydro delivered and installed the electromechanical equipment. In 2014, ANDRITZ Hydro was awarded with the rehabilitation of the oldest commercial tidal power plant HPP La Rance in France.

Tidal current power plant

At the end of 2014, ANDRITZ Hydro Hammerfest received an order from the UK-based tidal development company MeyGen Ltd. to supply three 1.5 MW tidal current turbines for an array under construction in the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth, Scotland.

The order placed with ANDRITZ Hydro Hammerfest is the first commercial order worldwide to supply tidal current turbines and part of the first project phase in completion of the MeyGen tidal array, which is the largest development project worldwide for a tidal turbine array.

Tidal lagoon power plant

The latest tidal energy design is to build an artificial off-shore lagoon, mostly encompassed by a dam providing a head. In February 2015 ANDRITZ Hydro, as a market leader in tidal energy technology, was appointed in a consortium with GE by Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay plc. as preferred bidder for the supply of the electromechanical equipment for the world’s first tidal lagoon hydropower project in Swansea Bay, Wales, UK. It will be located in the Severn Estuary and will be equipped with 16 bulb units, more than 20 MW each.

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