The French electricity provider company, Electricite de France, through an intermediate subsidiary, has proposed to the island of Vlieland, in the Dutch province of Friesland, to be the location for one of its demonstrations of renewable energy projects. Among the technologies is a 2 x 2 tidal current turbine, consisting of two pillars each with two rotor blades. The pillars would be anchored to the seabed. The blades, 15 m wide, would rotate 18 h a day generating a total of 1,400 kW. Coastal protection would be a collateral benefit.
The project itself would combine tidal current, wind turbines, and hydrogen and fuel cells. Electrolytic hydrogen would be produced using surplus energy, a way to store power or to load fuel cells for public transport.
If the plans materialize, Vlieland would become the first island in the world whereon all power would be generated by and stored using exclusively renewable sources.
