ABL marks tidal power exclusion zone offshore France

ABL France has completed a marine technical study for French tidal energy developers Normandie Hydroliennes (NH) and HydroQuest to support safe development of tidal turbine pilot projects located off Normandy in France.

The study is related to NH1 and FloWat tidal projects that will be installed close to the Raz Blanchard ferry route, one of the most powerful tidal sites in the world.

In order to mitigate the risk of ferries losing position and passing through the tidal turbine farms, an exclusion zone had to be defined and presented to local authorities.

NH and HydroQuest contracted ABL’s team in France to provide the technical study to justify the required vessel exclusion zone at the project site.

ABL’s study aimed at defining the drifting speed and direction of a relevant vessel-type in different weather conditions.

The data it produced was considered in parallel with the distance between the ferry route and farm to define the required exclusion zone. Based on ABL’s marine operational experience, the study took into consideration the captain’s time to react, the number of motors on ferries, the draft of the vessel and other criteria to reduce the risk of contact between the vessel and the tidal turbines.

Katia Gautier, project director at NH, said: “ABL’s team was able to respond positively and proactively to our urgent request and provide a quality study on time. We would like to thank the ABL team for their help.”

Leila Brahmia, senior subsea engineer at ABL in France, added: “NH1 and FloWat are innovative projects that will generate clean and sustainable electricity from the consistent energy resource produced from ocean currents. As a company committed to driving the energy transition, this study was right up our street, and the urgency of it made it even more fun and challenging.”

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