Dutch company Tocardo Tidal Power has tested a scaled version of a 1.5MW Universal Foundation System (UFS) at the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN).
The scale model was tested in high current conditions of up to 7 m/s and wave conditions of up to 17 m peak height, according to MARIN.
Pieter de Haas , Tocardo’s Chief Technical Officer, said: “The scale model passed the test with flying colors and behaved even better than expected.”
Tocardo’s UFS is designed for fully exposed operation in offshore locations with high tidal currents.
The U-shaped streamlined underwater body supports five 300kW turbines, MARIN said.
The structure has most of its body underwater and has two small floaters in the waterline. It is kept in place with mooring lines to fixed anchor points on the seabed.
To remind, Tocardo filed for insolvency and was granted suspension of payments to its creditors following the announcement by Tribute Resources that it failed to reach an agreement with the company on share swap that was expected to result in Tocardo becoming a fully-owned subsidiary of Tribute.