Limerick company's testing of revolutionary water turbine must now go overseas

THE Limerick company which is pioneering a potentially revolutionary  water turbine will not now be testing it out in the Shannon estuary as originally planned.

DesignPro Renewables will now have to look overseas to test its 60kW hydrokinetic turbine before it can move to producing it commercially.

The company, based in Rathkeale, applied in April for a foreshore licence in the River Fergus to begin intensive testing. But it then discovered it would not be in a position to complete the required environmental survey within the time constraints of its Horizon 2020 funding grant.  

“We are disappointed,” David Higgins, business development associate at DesignPro, said this week. “We could see the potential in the area.”

From the outset, Mr Higgins explained, they knew the time-line was tight.  The bird survey, carried out as part of the application for a foreshore licence, ommitted one stretch of water close to the chosen test site and the company was required to carry out a complete new survey. But that would have taken them beyond their funding deadline.  

“We had to stick to our deadlines,” Mr Higgins said. 

However, the company has said it will still push to get a project off the ground here in Ireland.  

But for now, they are in discussions for an overseas test site for its 60kW device. Testing for a smaller, 25kW device begins in France next month.

“We are still going ahead with the project as planned,” Mr Higgins stressed.

The hydrokinetic turbine is potentially life-changing as it can provide access to clean, green and sustainable energy for remote and off-grid communities around Ireland and around the world. It could mean an end to generators and to using fossil fuels such as diesel.

The  device can operate and generate in streams of water as shallow as two metres and as narrow as three metres. But its unique design means that the power available is twice that of natural water flow.

The technology for the hydrokinetic turbine was developed by GKinetic of Newcastle West and its unique design means that the power available is twice that of natural water flow.

“When we first started looking at this we identified what the problems were within the industry and a key one was deployment cost. We came up with a floating device that accelerates the flow into the turbines so we are actually getting double the speed of the water and, therefore, greater power,” company chief executive Vincent McCormack explained last October.

But because it can operate and generate in streams of water as shallow as two metres and as narrow as three metres, it means it can be easily used in remote and off-grid communities in Ireland and around the world, giving them clean, sustainable energy and without the need for diminishing fossil fuels such as diesel or oil. 

A prototype turbine, capable of generating 8kw of energy, was built by DesignPro and was tested last year at a marine tank at Limerick docks where it generated outputs above international industry standards. As a result of this success, DesignPro moved on to develop a 25kw model, its first commercial model capable of generating enough electricity to power up to 15 homes and a 60kW model.

It is these devices which must now be rigorously tested. Testing of the 25kW model is due to begin in France next month. But the search is now on for a test site for the 60kW model before commercial production can begin. This is expected to begin in 2020.