View non-flash version
July 2013 www.sname.org/sname/mt per installation drives down the installed cost per MW. The environment When the SeaGen project development started in 2003, it became obvious that it was not just about the technology development. It was essential that equal focus was given to the environmental aspects of the project. For the market to develop, MCT had to demonstrate that SeaGen would not have an impact on the environment into which it was being installed. MCT worked with a team of world-class experts including ? SMRU Ltd., which provided expertise on marine mammal science and marine mam- mal detection ? Queens University Belfast, which provided expertise on benthic ecologies, monitoring, and wake assessments ? Royal HaskoninGDHV, which provided project management, development of the environmental management programme, consent support, and environmental impact assessments. In Strangford, the key receptors that were considered during the project were the com- mon seals, harbor porpoises, and benthic communities. e Lough also has frequent visits from other protected species, including bottle-nose dolphins, minke whales, thresh- ers, and basking sharks. e environmental monitoring program was completed in 2012 to the satisfaction of the regulator. The step from the environmental assessment to the granting of the consents of the Skerries 10 MW array has been sup- ported by the outcome of the Strangford environmental monitoring program. e planned 10 MW demonstration arrays will have to be monitored to support the devel- opment of larger arrays. Reassurance and challenges e progress of the tidal energy sector in the U.K. since Seaow was installed in 2003 has been slower than predicted, but has resulted in reassured investment in the sector. Several OEMs (Siemens, Voith, Alstom, Andritz and DCNS) have invested in the sector in the last 12 months, which has provided signicant reassurance to the U.K. government and the U.K. electrical utilities. e sector is not without future chal- lenges. e current costs are high and need signicant capital grant support and reve- nue support to gain investment. e major OEM involvement will help to drive down the capital costs of the equipment, but installation represents a signicant part of the overall cost. Installation contractors are making signicant investments in design- ing vessels and demonstrating seabed drilling capability, which should result in signicant installation cost savings. Other enabling technologies will be required in the next few years such as larger- capacity dry and wet mate connectors. In the last 5 years, there has been a significant increase in demonstrated suc- cess, with our SeaGen device in Strangford Lough leading the way. There are other 1 MW devices in the water, with Andritz Hammerfest and Alstom TGL now both having generated 1 MW into the grid. MT David Ainsworth is business development director at Marine Current Turbines Ltd. Maintenance access to SeaGen in Strangford Lough has been key to the success of the project.