OES-Environmental distributes metadata forms (questionnaires) to solicit information from developers involved in environmental monitoring around marine renewable energy project sites around the world. This page provides project descriptions, baseline assessment, post-installation monitoring, and links to available data and reports. Content is updated on an annual basis.

SEENEOH Bordeaux Test Site

Description

Located in the Garonne River at the city center of Bordeaux, France, the SEENEOH test site is grid-connected and is used for river and marine tidal turbine testing at intermediate scales. The test site experiences a tidal range above 5m and current velocities up to 2.5 m/s. The test site is owned and operated by Fondation OPEN-C.

Location

The test site is located in the Garonne River, downstream from the Pont de Pierre, situated 100 km from the mouth of the Gironde estuary, in Bordeaux, France. 

Licensing Information

The site is fully permitted, and developers do not need to go through an administrative process.

Project Progress

The test site began operation in late 2016. Two berths, Quebec and Bristol, were completed and became operational in December 2016. An additional berth, Bilbao floating tidal platform, was launched on March 2, 2017. The three berths are designed to test mounted or floating fixation types. The test site has a total capacity of 250 kW and is connected to the grid via an onshore substation.

September 25, 2018, a 25kW floating tidal turbine developed by Design Pro and based on Gkinetic technology was installed at the test site. The Design Pro device was removed in 2020.

In 2022, the HPGS vertical axis turbine, developed by the Netherlands-based company Hydrokinetic Power Generation Systems, was tested for several months while submerged from a SEENEOH floating platform.

In January 2018, the Hydroquest River 2.80 hydrokinetic turbine was installed for testing at SEENEOH. The device features two levels and two transverse flow wheels with a total power of 80 kW. The device completed testing in 2019.

OPEN-C was founded in 2023 to bring together offshore wind and marine renewable energy test sites in France. It took over SEENEOH test site in 2024. 

Papers, Reports, Research Studies

Giry, C.; Bald, J.; Uriarte, A. (2018). Underwater sound on wave & tidal test sites: improving knowledge of acoustic impact of Marine Energy Convertors. Paper presented at 7th International Conference on Ocean Energy (ICOE 2018), Cherbourg, Normandy, France. 
 

Environmental Monitoring: SEENEOH Bordeaux Test Site

Searches description, design and methods, and results.
Phase Stressor & Receptor Design and Methods Results
Post-Installation Monitoring Noise

Marine Mammals 		Acoustic sampling campaign (November 2017)
Acoustic measurements using drifting methods using RTSYS equipment and hydrophones. Repeated acoustic sampling of 5 to 6 hours with individual sample increments of 1 minute; GPS measurement to position each acoustic sample; AIS tracking used to identify maritime traffic; observations of traffic timing and distance; current velocity assessment using platform mounted ADCPs. 		Completed
Noise pollution identified from natural, anthropogenic (boat traffic, tramway use). Tidal test site infrastructure generated impulsive sounds independent that are environmental dependent: vibration of mooring lines, floating platform parts flexing, and platform instrumentation.