French President Launches Tidal Power Race

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - French President, François Hollande, has kicked off a race to make France the leader in tidal energy by announcing tenders for up to four pilot projects off the Brittany and Normandy coasts.

Attending an event in port city of Cherbourg, Hollande claimed that tidal power has the potential to create thousands of jobs in the hi-tech and engineering sectors as well as contribute up to 3,000-megawatts (MW) in clean energy.

The tenders call for the creation of three or four tidal farms, each comprising 5-10 turbines, which will be located at two sites, the Raz Blanchard off the coast of northwest France, and the Fromveur, off Finistère. Winning firms will be liable for subsidies from the state amounting to €30 million ($40.8 million) per project, while electricity generated will be purchased by state-owned energy giant, Electricite de France S.A. (EPA:EDF) (EDF) (Paris, France), at a set tariff of €173 ($235) per megawatt hour (MWh).

"If our projections are correct there could be in the next decade 3-gigawatts installed off our coasts," Hollande told media. "It represents 3 [nuclear] reactors, and that goes to show the potential of tidal energy."

Hollande, who is anti-nuclear power, has made election promises to shut down the country's oldest nuclear power plant, Fessenheim by 2016, in addition to reducing the country's reliance on nuclear power to 50% by shutting 24 plants over the next 13 years. For additional information, see July 24, 2013, article - France to Shut Oldest Nuclear Plant.

France is estimated to have Europe's second largest tidal energy potential after the U.K.. Energy and engineering firms are already lining up to take part in the tidal competition.

DCNS (Paris, France), owner of leading marine turbine maker OpenHydro (Dublin, Ireland), said it plans to create 1,000 local jobs for the production of marine turbines in France. Commenting on Hollande's presentation, DCNS Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, Bernard Planchais, said: "We are pleased with this important decision, which offers us a new opportunity for development within the framework of our growth strategy. Making use of local know-how, it is DCNS's ambition to make Cherbourg the spearhead of the French marine turbine industry."

The worldwide tidal energy market represents a total exploitable power of at least 90,000 MW, DCNS estimated, 'the equivalent of some sixty EPR nuclear reactors'.

Rival Alstom S.A. (ENX:ALO) (Paris, France) and GDF Suez SA (EPA:GSZ) (Paris, France) have announced an alliance to prepare a common project for the tender.

Alstom is successfully testing its 1 MW tidal turbine in the waters of the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) at Orkney in Scotland, off Scotland's Orkney Islands. The turbine has reached the full nominal power of 1 MW, generating over 10 MWh of electricity for the grid. Alstom entered the U.K. marine sector last year when it purchased tidal turbine manufacturer, Tidal Generation Limited (Bristol, England). For additional information, see September 28, 2012, article - Alstom Dives into U.K. Tidal Market.

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