According to our information, General Electric has decided to stop the development of its hydro turbine, which uses the marine currents to generate electricity.Cold shower on the great ambitions of France in the hydro, this technology that uses the marine currents to produce electricity.
According to our information, General Electric (GE) has decided to suspend the development of the 1.4 megawatt (MW) Oceade turbine developed by Alstom in this area, planting Engie, which worked with these turbines on a Nepthyd project, Of four hydro-turbines at Raz Blanchard, west of the Cotentin (Manche). “The market is not at the rendezvous of the hopes raised between 2009 and 2013” , do you confirm GE. The 40 people working in this area were redeployed on high-growth activities, such as offshore wind, standing or floating.
So, Engie, who won this project after the end of 2014 a call for expressions of interest (AMI) in 2013, states that “unfortunately decided to stop Netphyd project, following the failure of a supplier” , without further comment . The energy company, which had carried out the initial studies and conducted the public inquiry last summer, had obtained the green light from the European Commission and was on the verge of obtaining administrative authorizations in France.
Technical problem for EDF
Moreover, the two turbines submerged in 2016 by EDF, with a turbine provided by DCNS, off ,were they due to be brought ashore due to a technical problem: Bolts used did not meet the specifications and did not support corrosion. DCNS has turned against its supplier, but EDF does not plan to release them for several months. The consortium EDF EN-DCNS, another winner of the MAI in 2013, is not ready to immerse the seven turbines at Raz Blanchard also planned within this framework.
Finally, the only machine to have produced the marine electricity in France (except prototypes) is that of Sabella, a Breton SMEs which tested a 1 megawatt turbine in the passage of Fromveur, off the island Ouessant for a year, between June 2015 and June 2016. “We produced 70 MWh on the period” , says its CEO , Jean-François Daviau. The company now hopes to launch a call for tenders for a farm of four tidal turbines off Ouessant, expected this spring.
Source: http://www.lesechos.fr/
