Pacific Crossing, a Japanese company that owns an underwater fiber optic telecommunications cable that connects the U.S. to Asia, expressed its concerns about the tidal power project for which the Snohomish County Public Utility District (SNOPUD) had applied with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
As there is no U.S. regulation on how close tidal turbines should be to subsea cables, the Japanese company referred to a UK standard, according to which marine energy development should be 200-400 metres away from an existing subsea structure. The British guidelines seem to be the way to go, since the North American Submarine Cable Association had urged regulatory agencies to apply them to all American ocean renewables projects, the U.S. media confirmed.
The SNOPUD’s proposed tidal power pilot project would be developed on the bottom of Puget Sound, close to the submarine cable. If the project moves ahead, the maintenance work would be difficult to perform with the turbines installed on that location, the Japanese company says.
[mappress]
Offshore WIND Staff, October 9, 2013; Image: OpenHydro