Atlantis Resources, the developer behind MeyGen tidal energy project, has announced today, July 23, that the last bore hole for the project has been punched through.
The first horizontal directional drilling (HDD) hole was punched through on April 21, followed by the second bore hole drilled on May 29, according to Atlantis’ social media.
HDD is a commonly used construction process in utility industries that involves the installation of underground pipes to provide a path for the insertion of subsea cables to avoid disturbing the shoreline, intertidal and near shore areas.
The drilling created the bores for the cables which will connect the onshore site at Ness of Quoys with the four subsea turbines planned for the Phase 1A of the Meygen tidal project.
Each of the four bores are approximately 550 m long. They are designed to contain a 4.4 kVA cable that will export the electricity.
Polyurethane pipes will line the full length of each MeyGen bore hole to protect power cables from erosion, according to Atlantis’ social media.
The fabrication of steel ballast blocks that will be used for the turbines’ foundations is carried out at JCG facility near Thurso in Caithness, Scotland.
The company also announced that the factory acceptance tests are being carried out on Andritz Hydro Hammerfest generators that will be used for the project.
In Phase 1A of the project, four submerged turbines generating 6 MW will be installed off Caithness, with the first power expected to be delivered in 2016.
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Images: Atlantis Resources