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Brouwersdam tidal power station
Since 2014, the possibility of realising a tidal power station has been investigated as a co-coupling opportunity for the reintroduction of the tide in the Grevelingenmeer by creating an opening in the Brouwersdam.
This 'permeable means' is necessary to improve the water quality of the Grevelingenmeer and to comply with the European agreements in accordance with the Water Framework Directive (WWR) for healthy (inland) waters.
Original assignment
In order to complete the exploration phase, the following assignment was formulated in 2018: "Investigate the construction of a sluice with the co-coupling opportunity to generate tidal energy in it.
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Research 3 variants:
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a means of passage exclusively aimed at the exchange and restoration of damped tides;
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a tidal power station with a duct function and therefore a wider duct;
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a wider culvert like option 2 but without a tidal power station (option to build in a tidal power station later).
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This has resulted in a preferred alternative (VKA). A new expert team recently concluded that this VKA is too expensive and uncertain and advises to completely disregard the option for a tidal power station in further planning. The VKA is indeed a fairly expensive solution, because (extremely) large low-head turbines with a diameter of 8m are chosen.
EWA Opinion and Alternative Proposal
Missed opportunity
EWA, supported by the regional parties, believes it is a major missed opportunity not to develop a climate-proof and climate-adaptive opening, which is not only resistant to sea level rise but can also generate predictable sustainable base-load electricity from tidal currents and thus contribute to sustainability and security of energy supply for the region.
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Second opinion & alternatives
EWA therefore calls for a second opinion asking the market to propose alternatives that are smarter and cheaper than the VKA.
Alternatives are conceivable with smaller turbine diameters, which also require less drastic integral provisions. These turbines can be placed at a later stage against the openings of the new barrier with minimal additional provisions.
Commitment to climate-adaptive action
The condition is that this is taken into account in the design of the sluice. This fits in very well with climate-adaptive action, because the same facilities and turbines can also be used for pumps. If sea level rise occurs earlier than is currently assumed, this functionality can be added without significant additional costs.
Documents
An overview of all public documents and letters
Progress letter water I&W, June 2, 2021
In the past year, in the preparation for the plan development phase, it was determined that the scope of the project could not be carried out within the financial constraints. The government and the region are in consultation about the follow-up steps to be taken in order to gain insight into the possible solutions within the financial constraints. The starting point remains to sustainably improve the water quality and nature of the Grevelingen. Advice was requested from a team of external experts for the decision-making.
Advice expert team 3 Feb 2021
The Expert Team was asked to investigate and assess three options (large permeability in accordance with the preferred alternative, smaller permeability within the target budget and flushing possibly in combination with symptom control) for the continuation of the project. In all options investigated, the Expert Team disregarded the co-coupling opportunity of a tidal power station.
Working document Advice Tidal Grevelingen - 3 Feb. 2021
A tidal power plant is a major risk for the manageability of the follow-up, from a technical perspective (feasibility), from a business economics perspective (affordability) and from the perspective of future management (liability). These aspects have been described in more detail by the Expert Team in Appendix 5.
Audit Project Tidal Grevelingen - 13 Nov. 2020
The tidal power plant is one of the main reasons for the instability of the scope. There are two showstoppers for this component: there is no viable business case (or: no paying client) and the required pump turbines4 are technically not feasible within the expected timeframe of decision-making. Excluding the tidal power plant is a first step in streamlining the project, but it is certainly not sufficient.
MIRT exploration for the Grevelingen Tidal project
In 2018, the MIRT exploration for the Getij Grevelingen project was continued. This Exploration Report describes the path the project has taken to completion of the exploration phase with a Preferred Alternative. The following assignment was formulated in 2018 for the completion of the exploration phase: Investigate the construction of a sluice with the co-coupling opportunity to generate tidal energy in it, with the three variants:
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