Pile driving sleeve to enable installation of three piles in Cape Cod Canal to support the Bourne Tidal Test Structure. Image: MRECo

The first of its kind in the US, the Bourne Tidal Test Structure is being moved by barge today to Cape Cod Canal for installation. The barge, owned by AGM Marine, Inc. departed from New Bedford at day break.

The installation company, AGM Marine (Mashpee and New Beford), will drive three piles in the first three days and assemble the structure on top of the piles by the end of this week. The work will take place in the water off the Railroad Bridge and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Cape Cod Canal Field Office.

The structure was built at MassTank (Middleboro). It is part of the New England Marine Energy Development System (NEMEDS) which is a network of testing facilities located in a 100 mile radius off the east coast of the U.S. These test facilities will help device designers obtain valuable information that will enable them to scale up and commercialize more efficiently.

The projects in NEMEDS are facilitated by the Marine Renewable Energy Collaborative (MRECo) of New England,  a nonprofit corporation built to foster the sustainable growth of marine renewable energy (offshore wind, wave and tide) through education, collaboration and demonstration projects.

MRECo is accepting proposals for testing at BTTS in the spring of 2018. Organizations, individuals, companies and research institutions interested in using the site for testing tidal energy devices and/or marine and remote sensors should contact John Miller at: director[at]mreconewengland.org or 508.728.5825.

Learn more about the Bourne Tidal Test Structure and the New England Marine Energy Development System.

View a photo gallery of the installation preparations at SouthCoast Today.