Dutch tidal power specialist Tocardo has agreed to buy the 1.25MW Oosterschelde Tidal Power Plant, dubbed the largest tidal array in the world. . The plant is installed on the Dutch Oosterscheldekering surge barrier.
The Oosterschelde Tidal Power Plant consists of five T-2 tidal turbines, supplied & designed by Tocardo, in one of the sluice gates of the Oosterschelde storm surge barrier, with the potential of scaling up.
"At Tocardo we are looking forward to taking this unique project forward to the benefit of the local area in terms of jobs, supply chain development, and making an impact on the net-zero targets. This exemplar project will be run as an R&D facility and shop window for similar global developments which provides significant export opportunities” said Andries van Unen, CEO of Tocardo.
Commissioning of turbines at the tidal power plant was completed with commercial full operation starting in August 2016.
According to Tocardo, owned by HydroWing and QED, it has been estimated that the technical potential for tidal energy in the Netherlands is between 150-250 MW.
Commenting on Tocardo's acquisition of the tidal power plant, Richard Parkinson, MD HydroWing: “Our main objective in taking over the operation of the OTP project is to gain an understanding of how the turbines can be developed and to inform financial models for integration into commercial projects worldwide. This platform is an excellent test bed to develop the turbines while maintaining low OPEX and informing future design developments. Well done to our CEO Andries van Unen for making this complex deal happen.”
Subscribe
