One of France’s first commercial-scale tidal energy pilot projects, NH1 is due to supply thousands of locals with clean electricity.
A tidal farm featuring the world’s most powerful underwater turbines is being built off the coast of Normandy after winning EU funding.
The NH1 tidal project from Normandie Hydroliennes will use four turbines to turn the Raz Blanchard tidal flow – Europe’s strongest tidal stream – into a source of renewable energy.
It is one of dozens of decarbonisation projects that have received a total €4.8 billion in the EU’s Innovation Fund’s latest round of grants. This coffer for clean technologies is filled by revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), which requires polluters to pay for their greenhouse gas emissions.
“Being selected by the Innovation Fund is a major recognition of our work and the impact that our technological system, the innovative Proteus AR3000 horizontal axis turbine, can have on decarbonisation and the energy mix,” says Katia Gautier, director of Normandie Hydroliennes (NH).
NH1 will be located 3km west off the coast of Cap de la Hague, and is due to start supplying electricity by 2028.
How much energy can the Normandy tidal farm generate?
The Channel sea current of Raz Blanchard is one of the most powerful in the world, NH states. With a development potential of around 5 to 6 gigawatts (GW), it could produce 15 to 18 terawatt hours (TWh), supplying electricity to 8 million people.
Currently under construction in the port town of Cherbourg, the underwater turbines will have a rotor diameter of 24 metres and a capacity of 3 megawatts (MW) each. This 12MW foursome will supply 34 GWh of energy a year – enough to meet the needs of 15,000 local residents.
There are other benefits for locals too. 80 per cent of the construction value of the project will be produced in France, where NH promises it will create some 400 direct and indirect jobs. The reminder will come from Europe, in order to guarantee energy sovereignty.
Gautier says the €31.3 million grant will enable the company to take “decisive steps” in realising the project. “We look forward to working with our partners to make the NH1 tidal turbine pilot farm a success, a reference project and thus contribute to a more sustainable energy future,” she adds.
Future projects will deploy as many as 85 turbines a year, the Innovation Fund notes, multiplying job creation to boost France’s blue economy.
How will the tidal turbines affect the marine environment?
Installed at a depth of at least 38 metres, NH stresses that its pilot farm will pose no danger to navigation or maritime safety, and will operate with respect for marine life.
Field studies show a return of fish and marine megafauna to existing project sites, it points out. The MeyGen project off the coast of Scotland, for example, suggests that turbine foundations and connection cables can be “settlement spaces” for species.
According to other studies, the sound pressure levels of tidal turbines are significantly lower than the disturbance thresholds of marine megafauna.
The project is expected to save 57,878 tonnes of CO2 equivalent in greenhouse gas emissions.
In total, 85 clean tech projects in 18 countries secured funding from the Innovation Fund last October, in sectors ranging from energy storage to net-zero transport and buildings.
“The Fund is once again demonstrating how the EU ETS is a great tool in reducing emissions, and funding the projects we need to build a climate-neutral and competitive Europe,” commented Wopke Hoekstra, EU Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth.