Mark McConnell
Director - Maritime Infrastructure and Ocean Energy
Energy transition
Open Hydro Tidal Energy
We provided advice and engineering services for the development of Open Hydro's innovative tidal energy device and particularly the concept development, design and construction of a range of foundation structures.
We delivered:
- Early device concept due diligence
- Foundation for 5m prototype at EMEC in Orkney
- Design of a 10m (1 MW) gravity turbine base and installation concept
- Computational tidal modelling and site selection for 10m deployment
- Project management of deployment concept for 10m device
Key details
Project name
Open Hydro Tidal Energy
Client
Open Hydro
Location
Scotland/Nova Scotia
Services provided
- Maritime Infrastructure
- Coastal Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Project management
- Modelling
Challenge
Developing a new tidal energy device through various phases of scale development required our engineers to work closely with the device developers’ technical team. We were required to provide a range of technical services while utilising our significant experience in the design and logistical support for maritime infrastructure projects.
The design of foundation concepts for various locations required our engineers to be flexible and adaptable to client requirements as the tidal turbine was being developed.
A key challenge was the balance of the economics of the foundation design with the requirements for survivability and practicality of installation for a trial deployment. Of particular importance in the consideration of device performance and deployment techniques were:
- Water depth
- Geology and bed morphology
- Tidal energy
Solution
We developed a range of viable foundation and installation concepts for various iterations of the tidal turbine development and testing. These included:
- Fixed pile solution for a 5m prototype, installed in 8 knots tidal conditions
- Gravity foundation for a 6m prototype installation in Orkney
- Gravity foundation for a 10m (1MW) installation in Nova Scotia. The foundation had a total weight of 450 tonnes on deployment, and the design included the foundation elements, steel venture and turbine cassette.
- Concept engineering for a 16m device foundation with a total weight of 1110 tonnes
- A bespoke barge installation methodology
- Development of a unique device retrieval solution
- Site appraisal and selection
- Procurement and fabrication supervision
Key contacts