The project will use the Tocardo T3 turbine for the first time, with each of the twenty HydroWing units powered by two T3 turbines.
The company secured 20MW of capacity at Morlais through the UK Government’s Contracts for Difference scheme Allocation Rounds 5 and 6 (AR5 and AR6). The HydroWing project’s AR6 award is the largest tidal energy allocation in the UK. A demonstration project is scheduled to take place at Morlais in 2025.
Richard Parkinson, CEO of Inyanga Marine Energy Group, said: “The patented HydroWing design includes a number of innovative features, which together represent a step change in tidal energy design, increasing energy yield and reducing costs. The ‘all in one’ HydroWing system is based on a modular approach, which dramatically reduces CAPEX and installation costs.
“Firstly, the modular substructure comes in road haulable sections, which can be rapidly assembled quayside for installation. The T3 turbines can also be easily transported and installed. Previously, turbines have been large and expensive, if not impossible to deliver to some of the remote locations in which we operate, whereas the compact T3 turbines can be delivered ‘in a box’. In fact, all the HydroWing components will fit in containers for easy, low-cost transport. Additionally, the well-proven wet mate connection system from the transformer hub to the export cable allows for instantaneous ‘plug and play’ connection. The two micro-pile fixings on each foot of the substructure are lightweight and low cost, and can be installed by small workboats. We estimate that there is an up to 60% saving in fixation costs, increasing rapidly with scale.
“What’s more, the patented HydroWing Quad Barge also has a modular design, enabling operations and maintenance costs to be minimised too.
“As well as all these significant cost reduction elements, the HydroWing system includes many features to increase energy yield. For example, the patented T3 turbine blades (each 600KW with 14m rotor diameter) benefit from passive pitch and a gearbox, delivering optimal yield, whilst the 19 metre nacelle height places the turbine in optimal flow conditions for maximum yield as well. The winning combination means that energy yield is increased dramatically, up to 60%.”
Andy Billcliff, CEO of Menter Môn Morlais Limited, which manages the Morlais tidal energy site, added: “This is a groundbreaking design that we expect to be a gamechanger for tidal energy. It offers the magic combination of reduced costs and increased energy yield. This represents a big step forward towards the commercialisation of tidal stream energy, paving the way for global applications.”
