Atlantis Resources has submitted a plan to the French government outlining its plans to deliver 1GW of tidal power by 2025 in the Raz Blanchard, Normandy.
Image: Atlantis’ report finds 2GW potential for tidal power in France. Photo: Courtesy of Teerapun/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
A study conducted by the company stated that there is an immediate potential for 2GW of tidal energy in the Raz Blanchard, Normandy.
Tidal power in the region can attract nearly €3bn of CAPEX investments, while creating up to 10,000 jobs, according to the Atlantis study.
Atlantis also stated that the 1GW project has the potential to drive down levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for tidal power, when the final phase of the project is commissioned.
The company also claims that the 1GW project, if implemented, would be the largest tidal project in existence. The study has found that Le Raz Blanchard has one of the best tidal energy resources in the world.
Atlantis said that the construction of the 1GW the site could be quickly expanded to 2GW by 2027. Construction of the Le Raz Blanchard tidal project is also expected to open up an export market worth an estimated €400m in turbine sales every year.
Atlantis CEO Tim Cornelius said: “France is sitting on a low cost renewable energy gold mine at Raz Blanchard. Now that the tidal steam industry has been through the R&D phase and is now entering full scale commercialisation, France should be at the forefront of exploiting this environmentally benign, predictable and inexhaustible source of renewable energy.
“Our proposal, if implemented, could quickly create a new industry in France attracting investment in local companies to establish a supply chain capable of delivering more than 1,000, 1.9MW tidal turbines along with their associated foundations and the onshore infrastructure.”
Recently, Atlantis has completed construction of the Phase 1A of the 398MW MeyGen tidal energy project in Scotland’s Pentland Firth.
The firm said that the 6MW MeyGen system is the world’s largest tidal stream array and that the project has undergone extended period of array operation since the reinstallation of turbines in 2017.