In the North of the Netherlands close to the Tocardo head office and the old test facility three T1 turbines are operated in the Afsluitdijk tidal barrage.
In February 2015 the Tidal testing Centre installed three T1 turbines, manufactured by Tocardo, in the Afsluitdijk tidal barrage. The turbine array is an extension of TTC’s test facility and the tidal turbine that has already been producing electricity for more than seven years. The array has a capacity of more than 300 kW, producing electricity for about 100 local households. The energy is delivered to clients by Greenchoice and the NHEC (Noord Hollandse Energie Cooperatie).
The turbines will also produce vital data and experience in turbine arrays. As the world’s only turbine manufacturer capable of installing this type of multi-turbine installation, we can now monitor the array in turbulent waters and see how the turbines interact. This information is necessary for up-scaling and the commercial roll-out of such tidal projects.
Once the array’s operations have been fine-tuned and evaluated, the project partners plan to implement additional tidal installations, with a capacity of up to 2 MW, in the Afsluitdijk.
The project is financially supported by the Dutch Waddenfonds, a non-profit organisation which supports sustainable developments in the Waddensea region. The project is also supported by both national and regional governmental organisations who aim to re-strength the Afsluitdijk in combination with sustainable energy.
The initiative of Tocardo and TTC was officially opened on the 20th of February 2015 by the Province representatives Hans Konst (Deputy Province Friesland) and Jaap Bond (Deputy Province Noord-Holland).
This tidal test pilot is part of the collaboration program ‘De Nieuwe Afsluitdijk’ (DNA). DNA is a collaboration of the provinces Noord Holland an Fryslân and the municipalities Hollands Kroon, Harlingen and Súdwest-Fryslân. The project is also supported by Energising Deltas a collaboration to investigate successful integration of water management, water safety and renewable energy.