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OpenHydro Group Ltd
Founded2004; 20 years ago (2004)
Defunct2018 (2018)
Headquarters
Dublin
,
Ireland
ProductsTidal stream turbines

OpenHydro Group Ltd was an Irish developer of tidal stream turbines, established in 2004.[1] It was acquired by Naval Energies (then DCNS) in 2013, however, Naval Energies decided in July 2018 to stop developing tidal turbines and focus on floating wind turbines.[2][3] The company subsequently went into liquidation with debts of about €280m.[4]

OpenHydro was based in Dublin and had a manufacturing facility in Greenore, Ireland.[5] Naval Energies unveiled a new factory in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France alongside the International Conference on Ocean Energy (ICOE2018) just weeks before exiting the tidal energy market.[6]

Photo taken at sea of the OpenHydro turbine, raised above the water supported between 2 metal piles. There is a walkway around the turbine for maintenance access and a small orange boat nearby. The turbine has an outer and inner ring, with 10 blades between.
OpenHydro turbine on test at EMEC, Orkney, in the raised maintenance position. Subsequent turbines sat on the sea floor.

OpenHydro developed an open-centred horizontal-axis turbine, surrounded by a ducting shroud which was claimed to have multiple benefits: increased flow through the turbine, helps align the flow through the turbine, and housed the rim-mounted direct-drive generator thus removing the need for a gearbox.[7]

Various iterations of the OpenHydro turbines were tested in Scotland, France, and Canada.

Testing at EMEC

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The first 250 kW Open Hydro turbine was tested at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) Fall of Warness site from 2006, and was connected to the Orkney electricity grid in May 2008.[8] The seventh generation 6 m diameter Open Hydro turbine was installed at the same EMEC site in April 2014.[9] The turbine on test at EMEC was mounted on two piles, allowing it to be raised out of the water for maintenance, as shown in the photo (right). However, subsequent turbines sat on the seabed on a gravity foundation. The test structure at EMEC was decommissioned and removed in the summer of 2024, with the piles cut off at the seabed by diamond wire cutting.[10]

Twin hulled barge moored at a quayside, between the hulls is the top of an OpenHydro turbine, but only the outer shroud is visible,
Openhydro Triskell - turbine deployment barge in the Port of Cherbourg

Paimpol–Bréhat tidal farm

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See also: Paimpol–Bréhat tidal farm

Électricité de France (EdF) started to develop a tidal farm at Paimpol–Bréhat, Brittany, France that would use OpenHydro turbines. A 250 kW turbine named L’Arcouest[note 1] was tested there between December 2013 and April 2014.[11] Two 16 m diameter 500 kW turbines were installed in January and May 2016,[12] however these turbines were never connected to the grid. They were removed for repair in 2017 but not re-installed.[13][7] The project was cancelled in 2018.

The turbines were lowered to the seabed, and subsequently removed, by a specially designed catamaran barge, the OpenHydro Triskell.[11][12] The turbine sat between the hulls, partially in the water.

Cape Sharp Tidal

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Cape Sharp Tidal was a joint venture of OpenHydro and Emera (the parent company of Nova Scotia Power) that tested OpenHydro turbines at the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE).[14] A 10 m diameter, 1 MW turbine was deployed in November 2009, however it suffered serious damage to the blades just 20 days later.[15] A 2 MW grid-connected turbine was then tested from November 2016 to June 2017.[16] In July 2018, a second 2 MW grid-connected turbine was installed.[16] This turbine was left on the seabed when OpenHydro filed for bankruptcy, suggesting it was damaged beyond repair. The device is expected to be removed before the end of 2024 by the next company to test at FORCE Berth D, BigMoon Canada Corp.[17]

Other projects

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OpenHydro was about to develop the 14 MW Normandie Hydro project at La Raz Blanchard, Brittany, to be operated by EDF Energies Nouvelles.[18] They were approved by the European Commission in July 2018 to receive funding from the French government.

In April 2014, OpenHydro and Alderney Renewable Energy announced plans to develop a 300 MW tidal array off the coast of Alderney in the Channel Islands.[19] The array was expected to have 150 turbines, rated at 2 MW each.

Notes

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  1. ^ Presumably named after the place on the mainland L'Arouest in Ploubazlanec commune, where the ferry to Île-de-Bréhat sails from.

References

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  1. ^ Ives, James (May 2009). OpenHydro (PDF). Green Economy Conference.
  2. ^ Maslin, Elaine (22 January 2013). "OpenHydro to be taken over by DCNS". Energy Voice. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Naval Energies stops its investment in tidal-turbine energy and concentrates on floating wind turbines and ocean thermal energy conversion". Naval Group. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  4. ^ Shumkov, Ivan (27 July 2018). "Naval Energies exits tidal energy, OpenHydro seeks liquidation". Renewables Now. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Shock for local OpenHydro staff". Independent.ie. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Naval Energies opens Cherbourg tidal turbine plant". Offshore Energy. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  7. ^ a b Allsop, Steven; Peyrard, Christophe; Thies, Philipp R.; Boulougouris, Evangelos; Harrison, Gareth P. (1 September 2017). "Hydrodynamic analysis of a ducted, open centre tidal stream turbine using blade element momentum theory". Ocean Engineering. 141: 531–542. doi:10.1016/j.oceaneng.2017.06.040. hdl:10871/28435. ISSN 0029-8018.
  8. ^ O'Halloran, Barry (28 May 2008). "OpenHydro turbine connected to UK grid". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Open Hydro". EMEC: European Marine Energy Centre. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Scottish pair to decommission OpenHydro platform". ReNEWS.biz. 12 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Paimpol-Brehat Tidal Farm". Power Technology. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  12. ^ a b "EDF installs OpenHydro turbine". 20 January 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Paimpol-Brehat Tidal Demonstration Project | Tethys". tethys.pnnl.gov. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  14. ^ Geschwindt, Sion (14 September 2021). "BigMoon: Reinventing the wheel to harness the tides". H2O Global News. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  15. ^ Patil, Anjuli (29 September 2015). "Cape Sharp Tidal aims to install Bay of Fundy turbine by end of 2015". CBC News. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Cape Sharp dishes second helping". ReNEWS.biz. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Nova Scotia selects company to remove Cape Sharp turbine, fill empty berth | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  18. ^ Shumkov, Ivan (26 July 2018). "EC says okay to French support for tidal power demo". Renewables Now. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  19. ^ Downing, Louise (10 April 2014). "OpenHydro to Build $833 Million Tidal-Power Plant in Alderney". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 10 September 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
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