The Bourne Tidal Test Site (BTTS) is the only tidal test site in the US to have obtained such a license. This license allows turbines to generate renewable electricity directly to the grid.
BTTS provides tidal turbine developers an unmatched capability for testing prototypes up to 3 meters in diameter.
The FERC license will allow the test site operator, MRECo, to manage the testing of tidal turbines in the fast moving ocean waters of the Cape Cod Canal. Aspects of the testing include turbine efficiency, generation capacity, durability, and potential environmental effects.
Developing new turbine technologies in very challenging and costly. University test tanks can only test small prototypes and components of less than one meter. Testing large devices in the ocean requires extensive permitting that is costly and time consuming. This has slowed development of new technologies. The BTTS was designed to solve this problem.
The BTTS was designed and constructed with Massachusetts Seaport Economic Council funding to address the test site shortage. It has a fixed test stand without the flow disruption resulting from testing off of bars or bulkheads. A lifting arm enables easy access for tidal turbines while the stability allows better accuracy from sensor. It is the only test site with these capabilities in the US and perhaps the world.
MRECo is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the sustainable development of ocean renewable energy. MRECo is also advancing testing of wave energy generators in Massachusetts water.
It has been estimated that tidal energy could provide one tenth of the world's electricity needs and Massachusetts waters could generate the equivalent of a nuclear power plant. Tidal energy has been shown to have minimal impact on the environment because the blades turn slowly and placed on the ocean bottom has no visible impact on coastal beaches.
John Miller, the MRECo Executive Director, noted, "To meet climate change challenges, we need all the sources of renewable energy available. Tidal energy is an important piece of the mix because it is reliable, predictable, and available along coasts where population densities "are highest."
BTTS also hosts the Marine Observatory for Sensor Testing (MOST), a site that allows cost effective long term testing of ocean sensors.
