This off-grid island will switch from diesel to tidal energy [video]

The UK’s Inyanga Marine Energy Group is set to establish Southeast Asia’s first tidal energy plant, which will provide power for an off-grid island.

Energy company Energies PH in the Philippines, through its affiliate San Bernardino Ocean Power Corporation, has reached an agreement with Inyanga to deploy its patented HydroWing tidal stream technology. The Hydrowing is a modular, multi-rotor tidal energy device fitted with a permanent gravity-based structure, and one to three retractable wings with two to five turbines per wing.

The plant will be located on the remote Capul Island of Northern Samar in the Philippines, along the San Bernardino Strait, known for the strength of its marine currents.

The HydroWing tidal stream turbines will be linked to the electrical network on Capul – an off-grid island currently relying on a 750 kW diesel power plant. The 1 megawatt (MW) tidal power plant, the project’s first stage, will be incorporated into a microgrid network, along with solar and battery storage. This change will transition the island from fossil fuels to reliable and clean energy.

As we embark on this pioneering tidal power plant for the Philippines, our vision is to replicate this in several off-grid sites all over the country to provide electricity in the hinterlands.

We see the initial project in Capul as a catapult to achieving our goal of helping create sustainable communities across the Philippines. The electric power that reaches families in remote areas enables them to have better access to education, health services as well as livelihood opportunities.

The Capul’s tidal energy project is anticipated to become operational by late 2025. Additional planned tidal power projects by San Bernardino Ocean Power Corporation are in San Antonio Island, also in Northern Samar, and Calintaan Island in Matnog, Sorsogon.

Watch the video below to see how the HydroWing Tidal Device works:

Read more: The world’s most powerful tidal turbine launches in Scotland

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