French Agency for Environment and Energy Management (ADEME) has approved the construction of 2MW in-river tidal energy project on the river Rhône in the eastern France.
The project will feature an in-river tidal farm consisting of 39 HydroQuest turbines with an average annual production estimated to be around 6,700 MWh, according to the French electricity generation company, Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR).
Aside from CNR, the consortium set up to drive the project forward, consists of a hydrokinetic technology developer, HydroQuest, and shipbuilder Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN).
The project, to be located downstream of Génissiat, will serve as a pilot demonstrator with the aim to prove the technical and economical viability of in-river tidal technology.
It was selected under a call for projects launched by ADEME in summer 2015, with the commissioning expected in 2018, CNR informed.