Tetra Tech provided advanced engineering and project management for the concept development, foundation design and installation methodology of tide energy devices for Open Hydro.
Challenge
Developing a new tidal energy device through various phases of scale development required our engineers to work closely with the device developers’ technical team. We provided a range of technical services while utilising our significant experience in design and logistical support for maritime infrastructure projects.
The design of foundation concepts for various locations required our engineers to be flexible and adaptable to client requirements as the tidal turbine was being developed.
A key challenge was the balance of the economics of the foundation design with the requirements for survivability and practicality of installation for a trial deployment. Of particular importance in the consideration of device performance and deployment techniques were:
- Water depth
- Geology and bed morphology
- Tidal energy
Solution
We developed a range of viable foundation and installation concepts for various iterations of the tidal turbine development and testing. These included:
- Fixed pile solution for a 5m prototype, installed in 8 knots tidal conditions
- Gravity foundation for a 6m prototype installation in Orkney
- Gravity foundation for a 10m (1MW) installation in Nova Scotia. The foundation had a total weight of 450 tonnes on deployment, and the design included the foundation elements, steel venture and turbine cassette
- Concept engineering for a 16m device foundation with a total weight of 1110 tonnes
- A bespoke barge installation methodology
- Development of a unique device retrieval solution
- Site appraisal and selection
- Procurement and fabrication supervision
Benefits
Early device concept due diligence
Foundation for 5m prototype at EMEC in Orkney
Design of a 10m (1 MW) gravity turbine base and installation concept
Computational tidal modelling and site selection for 10m deployment
Project management of deployment concept for 10m device
At a glance
Client
Open Hydro
Location
Scotland/Nova Scotia
Services
Civil engineering; coastal engineering; maritime infrastructure; modelling; project management
The project featured in this article was undertaken by RPS, A Tetra Tech Company and originally published on RPSgroup.com. In March 2026 RPS rebranded to Tetra Tech.