By K.Steiner-Dicks on Nov 20, 2013

Testing of the omni directional TEC1 took place offshore Blyth in Northumberland at the National Renewable Energy Centre (NAREC). The results produced during the testing were exactly as predicted and have encouraged the company to begin work shortly on TEC4, a 4m diameter fully working device.

Founded in 2007 by Brian Barnard, managing director and Mike Hoyle, technical director, the company has grown substantially from its early beginnings and now has several people working on making its future bright and sustainable.

Commenting on the recent test results, Brian Barnard said: “We are all very pleased with the recent results which have fuelled our enthusiasm to start work on the next TEC, a fully working device which will ultimately be connected up to the grid.

For grid tied units, the aim will be for each unit to generate in the region of 200Kw to 500Kw of electricity for 70% of the time each day. Farms of 50 to 100 units will be laid out on the seabed, connected together to form generations spreads in the region of 10 to 20Mw.

For remote low flow applications, the units will target outputs of between 2 and 30Kw, providing this power at point of use.

Having successfully produced electricity from their 1.75m prototype, a 4m TEC, to be used for the supply of independent subsea power in remote conditions, will be developed during 2014. This will be closely followed by a 12m unit, sized to supply power on a national scale with an array of 3 x 12m units being installed as a single output system.