EMEC completes assessment of Verdant Power tidal array
Published by Sarah Smith,
Assistant Editor
Energy Global,
The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) has completed an independent power performance assessment for Verdant Power’s New York tidal power array at the Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy (RITE) site. The report confirms active power output was 187 kW at 2.5 m/s peak flood tide and turbines performed at over 99% availability. Overall water-to-wire efficiencies reached over 46%.
This is the world’s first marine energy Renewable Energy Test Report (RETR) and follows EMEC becoming the world’s first International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Renewable Energy Testing Laboratory (RETL) for ocean energy in August 2020.
It is also the first United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) ISO/IEC 17025 accredited power performance assessment to be completed by EMEC at a site outside the centre’s own test facilities in Orkney, Scotland.
As a UKAS-accredited test laboratory, EMEC followed IEC technical specification ‘62600-200: Electricity producing tidal energy converters — power performance assessment’. EMEC reviewed all test and data collection equipment as well as overseeing the deployment of current profilers to measure water speeds. The electrical power output of each turbine was measured and analysed to develop power and efficiency curves for the turbines.
Power and resource data were measured for a period of 39 days of continuous operation. The data was processed and quality controlled by EMEC using the company’s in-house Integrated Metocean Processing, Analysis and Quality Control Tool (IMPAQCT) and the performance was analysed using EMEC’s Tidal Power Performance Tool (TPPT). COVID-19 restrictions required the extensive use of computer and video security measures.
Jonathan Lindsay, EMEC Operations and Technology Director said:
“The performance assessment and RETR characterise the energy production from the tidal energy converters across the range of water velocities at the RITE site. The reports ensure that project installations adhere to IEC wave and tidal energy international standards, supporting Verdant’s technical development pathway, and provide third-party assurances to financiers and investors in the sector.”
Dean Corren, Verdant Power Chief Technology Officer, said:
“The high level of performance and reliability demonstrated by the Gen5d tidal energy system over this long-term deployment meets the requirements for commercial operations, and as the first project with formal third-party confirmation under IEC conformity, we look forward to accelerating development for Verdant Power and the marine renewables industry.”
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Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/other-renewables/13052021/emec-completes-assessment-of-verdant-power-tidal-array/
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