MRECo to Manage Tidal Testing at Conte Fish Research Center

The New England Marine Renewable Energy Collaborative (MRECo) announced yesterday that it has entered into an agreement with the Conte Fish Research Center in Turners Falls, Massachusetts to manage turbine testing in the center's flumes, the largest in the US.

MRECo, a non-profit dedicated to expanding renewable marine energy, will provide the research center with a standard two-week test for in-stream and tidal turbines.  

Tidal energy provides a more consistent and predictable alternative power source than wind or solar, and while much of the world's population is still not connected to a power grid, 85% of the global populace lives within 50 miles of the ocean. Tidal turbine and associated equipment, however, require extensive testing due to the rigors of underwater operations.

The Conte Center is a government facility dedicated to studying fish passage and migration. The center also has the largest flumes in the US and can provide a controlled, instrumented facility for testing turbines as well as studying the impact of turbines on fish.

MRECo is developing a regional test infrastructure, the New England Marine Energy Development System (NEMEDS),  for testing tidal and wave generation devices. The Conte flumes will be the first part of the device testing process. Larger devices will be tested at a planned site in the Cape Cod Canal, and full size turbines will be tested at a site in the Muskeget Channel, which separates Martha's Vineyard from Nantucket.