GE has suspended the development of its 1.4MW Oceade tidal turbine and redeployed its employees to other areas of its renewables business.
According to French newspaper Les Echos, GE will no longer pursue the tidal technology acquired following the 2015 takeover of Alstom’s energy business.
The around 40 employees working on tidal have been moved to offshore wind, both fixed and floating.
As a consequence, Les Echos reported, tidal project developer Engie has shelved the 5.6MW Raz Blanchard tidal array off Normandy codenamed the Netphyd project.
The array, which was to feature four of GE’s 1.4MW Oceade turbines on monopile foundations, was slated for completion by the end of next year.
Les Echos reported Engie saying it had “unfortunately decided to stop Netphyd project, following the failure of a supplier.”
Image: 1MW tidal turbine at EMEC (Alstom/GE)
