According to a report in the Maritime Journal, the German group Schottel Hydro (www.schottel.de/schottel-hydro) — along with its subsidiaries Tidal Stream Ltd (TSL) and Black Rock Tidal Power (BRTP) — has decided to concentrate on smaller floating platforms such as Sustainable Marine Energy’s successfully trialled PLAT-I platform (pictured), pulling investment out of the large multi-turbine Triton Project in Canada.

The group says it will continue to provide its turbine technology and power take-off systems to tidal-energy projects in Canada and globally. However, following a comprehensive review, BRTP will use smaller floating platforms (such as PLAT-I) for its FORCE project in the Bay of Fundy.

Managing director Niels Lange said: “Schottel Hydro and its subsidiaries remain convinced about the positive future of the tidal-energy sector in Nova Scotia — and around the world.

“We remain committed to tidal-energy power generation and firmly believe in its viability; and while we will initially focus on modular scalable floating platforms, we will continue to provide services as a tidal turbine and power take-off systems expert.”

BRTP says its commitment to the FORCE project in the Bay of Fundy — Canada’s leading test centre for in-stream tidal-energy technology — has been significant.

To date, the company has invested several million dollars in this project; it estimates that as much as 2,000MW of electricity can be harvested from the Minas Passage alone.