CEO Bob Smith Interviewed

Bob was recently featured in Tidal Today story about the evolution of tidal turbine design and the need to increase scale:

Evolution of tidal turbines imminent

21 December 2011

Tidal Today takes a snap shot of current tidal turbine designs and asks the experts how cost and funding impacts will change the shape not only of the industry, but the turbines themselves.

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MCT's approach is quite different from that of Pulse Tidal, which has also considered the issue of increasing power generation from individual turbines, essential if the sector is to become commercially viable.  The company's turbine configuration, known as an oscillating hydrofoil, is suitable for shallower waters. 

"The horizontal axis turbine is limited in scale in waters less than 50 metres deep, where you can't get the rotor in the water," argues Bob Smith, Pulse's chief executive.  This, he suggests, could restrict their development.

Design flexibility

Pulse's turbine is a smaller device, which is also undergoing design changes following tests of the 100 KW prototype in the river Humber, Eastern England.  The tests have indicated the need for a fully submerged turbine, which will entail several alterations to the design. 

"The whole system will look different because of subsea deployment. We have spent a lot of time working on the power train, which is completed.  The next machine will be about deployment, recovery systems and maintenance" says Smith.  
Funding the next stage

If everything goes to plan, the company will install a 1.2 MW device in Scotland.  It has already secured £7m from EU sources for this £20m project and is looking for further investment for the next stage.  "We are deep in negotiations with a few big OEMs," states Smith.

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The full article is available here:

http://social.tidaltoday.com/industry-insight/evolution-tidal-turbines-imminent