The FloWatt tidal turbine farm project located at Raz Blanchard, in Normandy, France, and developed by Qair and HydroQuest, has received €20 million ($23 million) in funding from the EU "innovation fund".
The funding is in addition to millions more from French State aid schemes. FloWatt will also benefit from a guaranteed feed-in tariff for the electricity produced, ensuring sustainable visibility on its revenues. The Department of Manche has also expressed its intention to participate in the capital of the project.
The start of construction is scheduled for 2026 for commissioning in 2028. The 17MW FloWatt pilot farm will consist of six vertical axis tidal turbines, manufactured in Cherbourg in the workshops of the Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN).
The tidal turbines will be fully submerged three kilometres off the coast of Raz Blanchard. If all goes to plan, the tidal turbine power plant will produce the equivalent of the electricity consumption of 20,000 French people each year for twenty years.