Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English en
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Sustainable European Advanced Subsea Tidal Array

Project description

Towards efficient large tidal farms

The tidal site in Orkney, known for hosting the world’s first large tidal farm, has spurred innovation in the field. Building on this success, Nova Innovation (Nova) is spearheading new solutions for large tidal farms. The EU-funded SEASTAR project aims to establish a 4 megawatt tidal farm comprising 16 tidal stream turbines at the EMEC Fall of Warness tidal site in Orkney. Leveraging Nova’s proven turbine technology, the project will demonstrate the industrial systems, manufacturing processes, and operational techniques necessary for efficiently delivering a large-scale tidal farm. By doing so, the project aims to reduce costs, validate performance, enhance the insurability of large tidal farms, and improve their bankability. Additionally, the 16-turbine farm will address critical environmental evidence gaps and develop cost-effective, reliable monitoring solutions for future large tidal farms.

Objective

In the SEASTAR project, coordinator Nova Innovation (Nova) leads a world-class team to deliver a 4MW array of 16 tidal stream turbines at the EMEC Fall of Warness tidal site in Orkney - the worlds first large tidal farm, which will contain more tidal turbines than are currently deployed worldwide.

SEASTAR will utilise Nova's well-proven M100D turbine, developed in partnership with project partner SKF - the worlds leading supplier of rotating equipment. The project builds on the success of Nova's six-turbine Shetland Tidal Array - the world's first offshore tidal array - which was delivered under the H2020 EnFAIT project by a team including SEASTAR partners SKF and Wood. They are joined in SEASTAR by DLA Piper, the leading global law firm in renewable energy, and by specialists in sustainability, insurance, consenting, communication, engineering and offshore operations.

SEASTAR will demonstrate for the first time the industrial systems, manufacturing and operational techniques required to efficiently deliver a large tidal farm. It will generate and share transferable knowledge on key consenting risks, de-risking future large arrays globally. And it will improve the bankability of tidal energy by cutting costs, proving performance, and enhancing the insurability of large tidal farms.

SEASTAR represents a step change for tidal energy. Volume industrial manufacturing, operation and maintenance techniques will be applied for the first time to the full lifecycle of a tidal farm, from design, procurement, production, shipping, marshalling, deployment, commissioning, operation and decommissioning. The 16-turbine farm provides unique opportunities to address critical environmental evidence gaps and develop the cost-effective, reliable monitoring solutions at scale required to accelerate permitting and remove barriers for future large tidal farms.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation Actions

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL5-2023-D3-01

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

NOVA INNOVATION LIMITED
Net EU contribution
€ 303 240,88
Address
8 PRIORY OFFICE PARK STILLORGAN ROAD
D01 H104 DUBLIN
Ireland
SME
Yes
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Links
Total cost
€ 433 201,25

Participants (7)

Partners (5)