The D10 tidal turbine, initially deployed in the Fromveur Passage in 2015, was France’s first grid-connected tidal turbine, supplying electricity to the Ushant island grid. Initially designed by Sabella, the turbine has now been taken over by Inyanga Marine Energy Group, which has secured permissions to operate the turbine until August 2028.
On 16 October, Inyanga Marine Energy Group announced that it had taken over the D10 tidal turbine developed by the Breton company Sabella and had secured permissions to operate the turbine until August 2028. The Inyanga Marine Energy team, headquartered in the UK with an office in Brittany, has been managing all offshore operations at the D10 site since 2016.
Since its launch in 2015, the D10 tidal turbine has undergone various improvements. The technology has been validated and has been proven to have no negative impact on the local marine environment. Installed on the seabed at a depth of 55 metres, the turbine is 17 metres high with a 10-metre diameter rotor and can deliver up to 250 kW of clean electricity to the Ushant island grid. It has been operating continuously since its last deployment, managed by Inyanga, in early 2022, despite the notorious conditions in the Fromveur Passage which boasts the second most powerful tidal current in France.
Richard Parkinson, CEO of Inyanga Marine Energy Group, confides: “The future is safeguarded for this iconic tidal turbine. This is another exciting milestone for Inyanga Marine Energy Group as we move towards our ambition of being the world leader in tidal energy.”
A trailblazing project as it happened
In 2011, the Sabella D10 project was selected as part of the “Marine renewable energy demonstrators” call for expressions of interest launched by the French Agency for Environment and Energy Management, ADEME. The initial project consisted in building and deploying the D10 tidal turbine for a 12-month period in the Fromveur Passage. In 2015, the tidal turbine and the subsea export cable were installed and connected to the Ushant island grid. The D10 thus became the first ever tidal turbine to supply electricity to the French electricity grid. The project received funding through the national “Investments for the Future” programme and an additional grant from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) awarded by the Brittany Region.
Initial results for the project were promising and in line with expectations, and opened up future avenues for improvement. In July 2016, at the end of the authorised demonstration period, the turbine was raised to the surface for technical inspection and expert appraisal. In October 2018, the turbine was redeployed as part of the European Intelligent Community Energy (ICE) project. Following continuous electricity production over several months, the turbine was retrieved and Sabella’s team focused on developing new control methods to significantly improve the turbine’s efficiency and thus contribute to the sector’s competitiveness. The turbine was redeployed in 2022 and has been in continuous service ever since.
With this new milestone, history is in the making in Brittany for tidal turbine technology!
More about the tidal power potential in Brittany
