Likes Alter energy

Work starts on French offshore tidal power project

The Business Insider has an article about a new French tidal power project being built by Irish company OpenHydro - Work Starts On The Worlds Largest Tidal Energy Project.

French utility giant Electricite de France is collaborating with Irish marine technology company OpenHyrdro to build the worlds largest tidal power station — essentially a giant underwater wind farm — off the northern coast of France (via Industrialinfo.com).

The new 8-megawatt facility consists of four tidal turbines and will be capable of generating enough energy to power around 4,000 homes. The first turbine was completed at the end of August and will undergo a series of tests before being installed on the subsea base at Paimpol-Bréha.

The project, which commenced work in 2008, will cost around €40 million ($56.5 million) and is expected to go live in 2012.