Van Hoeken News

The first months of operating the BlueTEC tidal energy platform have been a success, according to the BlueTEC Texel Tidal partnership: with every tidal flow, the platform supplies electricity into the Dutch national grid. The success has led project partners to work toward developing plans for the installation of a second, larger turbine. “Getting the platform from the drawing board to a grid-connected operating reality in just six months is amazing,” said Allard van Hoeken, Head of New Energy at Bluewater Energy Services and recent recipient of the first Prince Friso Engineers Award.

The first BlueTEC Tidal Energy platform was formally named by the Mayor of Texel, the Netherlands this morning. The floating platform, which holds tidal turbines below the sea surface, will soon be positioned near the island of Texel – supplying clean electricity to the Dutch grid. This first BlueTEC will serve as a demonstration platform targeted at remote locations worldwide, such as islands in Indonesia, Philippines and the Pacific. It is also the start of further development of higher capacity tidal energy platforms, to be deployed in large farms. “We are very pleased that we have reached this exciting milestone for our first floating tidal demonstration platform,” says Bluewater’s Head of New Energy Allard van Hoeken at the naming ceremony. Mr.

A group of offshore companies, including Bluewater, Damen and Van Oord among others, has partnered for a floating tidal energy platform a project to generate clean electricity, marking the first time that a floating tidal platform is used for electricity production into the Dutch grid. Set to become operational in the first half of 2015, the BlueTEC platform, which will be moored near Texel in the Waddenzee, is of modular design and uses a new type of permanent mooring lines. It will also serve as a trial for remote locations worldwide, such as islands in Indonesia, Philippines or the Pacific.