HydroWing has designed an innovative new barge which will help drive down the cost of installation and maintenance for its patented tidal stream array technology.
HydroWing is designed to be a cost-effective and scalable solution to tidal stream energy generation and was the largest tidal stream project in Wales to be successful in the Government’s latest Contracts for Difference round, having been awarded a 10MW project at the Morlais tidal energy site in Anglesey.
Commercialisation of the tidal energy sector has so far been held back by high operations and maintenance costs. HydroWing’s next generation technology is said to address that challenge head on.
Its HydroWing technology offers a modular, reliable solution, based on its patented design. The wing system streamlines operations and maintenance by allowing for removal of sets of tidal energy turbines without the need to remove or work on the foundations. The new Quad Hull Barge is the latest innovation to the HydroWing system, which further increases productivity and drives down costs.
Richard Parkinson, MD of Inyanga Marine Energy Group, which is the parent company for HydroWing, said: “Deployment, recovery, and operations and maintenance are large factors in determining the levelised cost of electricity. However, offshore construction vessel availability is very weak with expensive day rates. This means that the cost of planned and unplanned offshore operations is very high.
“HydroWing’s new Quad Hull Barge has been specifically designed to tackle this issue, driving down costs and ensuring the turbines can be effectively maintained at low cost and with reduced downtime.
“Our new Quad Hull Barge represents a major leap forward for the sector…we believe our HydroWing technology will unlock the commercial potential of tidal energy worldwide.”
