HydroWing preps for 10-MW CfD-backed tidal stream deployment

UK firm HydroWing is starting preparations to deliver its 10-MW tidal stream energy project in Wales that secured a contract for difference (CfD) in the UK government’s latest round.

The project will be deployed at the Morlais site in Anglesey, the UK’s largest consented tidal energy scheme, which is managed by the social enterprise Menter Mon. It will represent a launch of the company’s tidal stream technology at utility scale.

“The HydroWing technology to be used for the Morlais project will incorporate the next generation Tocardo T-3 turbines,” Richard Parkinson, managing director of Inyanga Marine Energy Group, HydroWing’s parent company, said in a statement this week.

HydroWing and QED Naval teamed up in 2020 to develop the Tocardo turbine technology. The Tocardo T-3 design will get input from a 1.25-MW tidal energy demonstration in Eastern Scheldt, which was completed in October.

HydroWing said it is now starting to engage with local stakeholders and supply chain companies. A research project to assess the velocity of local tide currents has been completed together with Bangor University and has shown encouraging results.

The company says its technology is cost-effective and easy to deploy. It involves a supporting structure that sits on the seabed and bi-directional turbines. The project’s deployment is planned for 2027.

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