Tidal Energy Developer To Begin Tug Testing In 2023

California-based tidal energy developer Aquantis has signed a six-month berth agreement to test its Tidal Power Tug at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland.

In 2023, Aquantis will begin testing its Tug, a second-generation floating tidal energy converter, at EMEC’s Shapinsay Sound scale test site.

According to Aquantis, their spar-buoy platform supports a 10-meter diameter, two-bladed variable-pitch rotor and 160kw drivetrain.

Besides project management and operations support, EMEC will provide tidal resource monitoring, its Test Support Buoy enabling remote communications with the device, data relay and dissipation of power generated on site.

Testing at EMEC’s scale test site will allow Aquantis to gain marine experience and collect performance data.