Irish tidal energy company OpenHydro, a DCNS company, is preparing to make industry history during 2015. The Engineers Ireland CPD Accredited Employer is to deliver two of the world’s first grid connected tidal arrays in France and Canada later this year: a tidal energy industry first. In the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, OpenHydro is working with Emera to deploy and grid connect two 16m turbines (2MW each), tapping into one of the most powerful tidal environments on Earth. Off the Brittany coast at EDF’s Paimpol – Bréhat site, OpenHydro will also install two grid-connected, 16m turbines. OpenHydro employs 125 staff across three sites: a technical centre in Carlingford, Co Louth; offices in Dublin and a Canadian branch in Halifax, Nova Scotia. By the end of 2015, it plans to grow its workforce by a further 25 per cent.

OpenHydro tidal energy

[caption id="attachment_20062" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Openhydro tidal OpenHydro employees pictured in front of one of the company’s Open-Centre Turbines. This test turbine was previously deployed at the European Marine Energy Centre off the coast of Orkney[/caption] The company has almost one gigawatt of projects under development, equivalent to 25 per cent of Ireland’s electricity demand. Its commercial portfolio includes projects in Scotland, the Channel Islands, Canada, Northern Ireland and France. James Ives, chief executive of OpenHydro, described 2015 as a milestone year for the company as it prepares to celebrate ten years in business. “Over this period we’ve achieved a number of industry firsts, including being the first to deploy a tidal turbine at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), the first to generate electricity from tidal streams onto the UK grid, and the first to deploy commercial scale turbines in Canada and France,” he added. “During 2015 we plan delivery of two of the world’s first grid connected tidal arrays which will showcase our technology at commercial scale.” French industrial group, DCNS, acquired a controlling interest in OpenHydro in 2013. With support from DCNS, OpenHydro has established itself as a market leader in tidal energy - an industry estimated to be worth over €200 billion.