Moventas will work with Alstom to equip the Raz Blanchard pilot tidal farm in Northern France.
In December 2014, Alstom has been chosen to supply for a pilot tidal energy farm in Raz Blanchard, and now Alstom has selected Moventas to develop the tidal turbines’ gearboxes.
The Alstom Oceade™ 18 – 1.4 MW turbine has already been tested as a 500kW version in 2011-2012, followed by a 1MW version in 2013-2014 which injected 1.5GWh to the grid. Building on this experience, Alstom will install an improved 1.4 MW version for Raz Blanchard. With 5.6 MW in total capacity, the project equipped with four Oceade™ turbines will be able to supply power to 5,000 people, with construction planned to start in 2017.
The gearbox that Moventas is in the process of designing, and customer-specific modifications are being made by Moventas’ engineers. Condition management with Moventas CMaS is imperative subsea, and extra attention is being paid on overall gearbox reliability with special features such as accessories and lubrication systems.
Image: Alstom