ENERGIES RENOUVELABLES
sol(ID)aires
LE FUTUR DE l'EOLIEN
Grande - Bretagne: Green light for island turbines
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/guernsey/6449435.stm
http://www.are.gb.com/
ENERGIES RENOUVELABLES
Alderney is investigating piping electricity to the continent
| Irish technology firm Open Hydro will
be building "several" 1-megawatt (MW) turbines off Alderney which are due
to start operating in the next two years.
The turbines' output will be monitored in the pilot project before a tidal energy farm is agreed. The firm said Alderney, which has extremely strong currents, could produce 3 gigawatts (GW) of power. An Open Hydro spokesman said the turbines, based on a test rig in Orkney off the north coast of Scotland, would be safe for shipping and sea life. Trials could take five years before a full-blown tidal energy farm is agreed. He told BBC News: "The design is considered to have no affect on marine mammals since it has no oils that can leak and no exposed blade tips and a significant opening at its centre." |
The deal, signed with Alderney Renewable Energy
(ARE), a consortium of local business people, comes ahead of the launch
of a regulator, the Alderney Commission for Renewable Energy (ACRE), later
this month.
ARE has signed a deal with the States of Alderney for the rights to five years of testing for tidal energy. If the States agrees after that time, ARE would get a 50-year licence to produce tidal power from Alderney. Unlike other Channel Islands, Alderney owns three miles of the seabed around it. The island has a population of about 2,400 homes, so if a 3GW tidal farm was built, most power would be exported. ARE has been investigating the possibilities of undersea cable connection to the European grid. |
