Scottish Enterprise has awarded Jee Ltd. a contract to develop subsea electrical array cable solutions for tidal energy installations.
The contract is part of a study for the marine energy industry in Scotland, and will see Jee develop solutions for locating, securing, protecting and recovering electrical array cables for tidal energy installations. The cables will transport power generated from tidal energy devices deployed in high tidal flow areas to the shore.
Jee is one of five companies to work on the project, which has been supported by £2.4 million (nearly US$3.9 million) of funding. As part of Task A of the project, up to three solutions from the five presented by the participating companies will be chosen to progress through to practical demonstrations in sea conditions by fall 2015 (phase 2).
Jee has approached the problem by developing four concepts which have been assessed for the practicalities of installation and retrieval in order to identify the most suitable solution.
For Task B of the project, Jee will develop a conceptual design for a solution to meet longer term requirements for cable protection in tidal arrays. The produced solution could involve substantial shifts in the way cables are manufactured and installed, and significantly contribute to the growth of the emerging tidal energy industry.