Magallanes Turbine Case Study

This case study consists in the installation of the Magallanes Turbine prototype in the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC, a test site in the Orkneys, Scotland, that provides to ocean energy developers the opportunity to test full scale grid connected prototype devices in unrivaled wave and tidal conditions).

The floating system developed by the Magallanes Project is based on building an artefact (a steel-built trimaran), which incorporates a submerged part where the hydrogenerators are fitted. This platform is anchored to the sea bottom by two mooring lines, to the bow and stern.

The Magallanes Project sets out to develop and construct, in Galicia, the technology required to win the race for harnessing power from tides, by generating patents, expert teams, the electrical components and shipbuilding industries for floating platforms.

Previous tests in the EMEC at a scale of 1:10 have proven the capabilities of the device to produce energy. On this sense, the full scale model will have a nominal power of 2 MW.

This project is supported by the European Union by means of a Fast Track to Innovation Project and the Regional Government of Galicia (Xunta de Galicia), in the Galician R&D Plan. Forty researchers from universities and technological centres have taken part in developing the model.