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France bets on clean energy with 24-meter underwater turbines, powered by the tides; billion-dollar project promises rapid installation and continuous generation on the seabed.
France is taking a major step towards harnessing the ocean’s natural forces to produce clean energy. With a €31,3 million investment funded by the European Union, the country has begun installing 24-meter-long underwater tidal turbines in the English Channel, one of the continent’s most powerful sea currents. Each unit can be assembled in just 20 minutes, thanks to the advanced engineering involved in the project.
The initiative, called NH1, is led by the French company Normandy Hydroliennes and represents one of the first large-scale applications of tidal energy with commercial potential. The project aims to connect four turbines to the French electricity system by 2028, producing an estimated total of 34 GWh per year.
Tidal energy gains prominence in the French energy matrix
Tidal energy, also known as tidal energy, has emerged as a stable and predictable alternative to intermittent sources such as solar and wind. The French project stands out for using AR3000 submersible turbines, considered the most powerful in the world in this segment. Each unit will have 3 megawatts (MW) of power and will be positioned in Raz Blanchard, a sea strait north of Normandy.
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As tidal turbines use the gravitational force of the moon over the oceans to move large submerged rotors. This natural, constant and predictable force ensures stable power generation — one of the great challenges faced by renewable energy.
Fast assembly and automated operation
Each AR3000 turbine has a rotor diameter of 24 meters, equivalent to the height of an eight-story building. Despite its size, one of the most striking innovations of the project is the assembly time: just 20 minutes per unit. The speed of installation drastically reduces costs and deployment time, facilitating the expansion of the model to other coastal areas of Europe.
The intelligent turbine control system automatically adjusts the speed and blade angle, according to the intensity of the sea currents, maximizing electricity generation. This technology allows efficiency even in challenging environments, such as the Raz Blanchard Strait, known for its powerful currents.
Single cable carries power to dry land
All the energy generated by the submerged turbines will be transmitted to the French coast via a single export cable, a common solution in offshore projects in Europe. This type of cable is already used in interconnections between countries, such as between England and Denmark, and is efficient both in transporting energy and reducing losses.
Centralizing transmission via a single cable also allows other turbines to be easily integrated in the future, creating a generation grid. tidal energy even bigger.
€31,3 million investment could generate up to 100 GW by 2050
The NH1 project, with its initial investment of €31,3 million, is just the beginning of an ambitious gamble by France and the European Union. According to the company's estimates Normandy Hydroliennes, the potential for tidal power generation on the European continent could reach 100 gigawatts (GW) by 2050, enough to power up to 94 million homes.
This figure reinforces the role of tidal turbines as a strategic solution to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and diversify Europe's energy mix towards clean and permanent sources.
Environmental and technical challenges
Although the project was designed with sustainability in mind, it faces environmental and technical challenges. Normandie Hydroliennes stresses that the turbines’ design minimizes impact on the marine ecosystem, but issues involving local fauna and flora are still being monitored.
Additionally, Raz Blanchard’s offshore environment is known for its extreme conditions, which can make installation of the structures difficult and require constant maintenance. However, the technology is designed to withstand these conditions, and initial tests have shown good performance.
One of the main arguments in favor of submerged tidal turbines is their ability to generate stable and reliable power regardless of weather conditions. Unlike solar, which relies on daylight, and wind, which requires wind, tides have followed natural cycles that have been predictable for billions of years.
This characteristic makes tidal energy a valuable option to complement other renewable sources, helping to balance the electricity grid and ensure energy security over time.
