World’s First Commercial-Scale Tidal Power Turbine Begins Feeding Electricity to the Grid
SeaGen more than four times the size of next largest tidal turbine
The world’s first commercial-scale tidal turbine, developed by British tidal energy company, Marine Current Turbines, has delivered electricity onto the grid for the first time. In principle, SeaGen works much like an “underwater windmill” with the rotors driven by the power of the tidal currents rather than the wind.
Conservative estimates suggest there is at least five gigawatts of power in tidal flows in Britain, but there could be as much as 15GW.
The tidal current turbine, known as SeaGen, has briefly generated 150kW of power onto the grid as part of its commissioning work, ahead of it achieving full capacity a few weeks from now. SeaGen’s power is being intentionally constrained to 300kW during the commissioning phase, but once fully operational, it will generate 1.2MW of clean, renewable energy to the equivalent of 1000 homes.
The chosen site for the installation, Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland has a very powerful (and very regular) tidal pull and is recognized as one of the main tidal “hotspots” in UK and Irish waters. Understandingly elated, Martin Wright, Managing Director of Marine Current Turbines said:
“This is an important milestone for the company and indeed the development of the marine renewable energy sector as a whole. The marine environment poses a number of unique technical challenges… so we are delighted that Marine Current Turbines has delivered yet another world-first in this sector. It’s a major technical break-through.”
Environmental groups have voiced support for the project. Robin Oakley, head of Greenpeace UK’s climate and energy campaign said, “Britain should be at the forefront of marine renewable energy development. Our windswept island has huge renewable resources and we should seize the opportunities to secure energy from around our coasts.”
Officials expect that the present testing and commissioning phase will be completed by the end of the summer when an official “switch on” will take place. Marine Current Turbines’ next undertaking, a 10.5 MW project off the coast of Anglesey, north Wales, is believed to be commissioned around 2011/2012.
Other Posts on SeaGen Tidal Power:
- “SeaGen Tidal Power Up and Running [with new pics]“:: ecopolitology
- “Animation: SeaGen Tidal Power” :: ecoscraps
- “Britain Breaks-in Tidal Power” :: CleanTechnica
I object to these things. Appart from the eyesore of these things clogging our enjoyment of the sea, there will be habitat disturbances. No doubt local recreational and commercial fishers will be impacted. Why should locals suffer to provide energy for populations far away?
Better to invest in proven technologies like nuclear to combat climate myth, sorry, change and locate the power plants closer to the regional centers that use the power.
[...] post? Subscribe to our RSS feed and stay up to date. Coming on the heels of the inauguration of the world’s first commercial scale tidal power turbine, Electricite de France (EDF) has announced that it plans to build a pilot tidal turbine system in [...]
Required project report for the tidal turban electricity project
[...] World’s First Commercial-Scale Tidal Power Turbine Begins Feeding Electricity to the Grid The world’s first commercial-scale tidal turbine has delivered electricity onto the grid for the first time. In principle, SeaGen works much like an “underwater windmill” with the rotors driven by the power of the tidal currents rather than the wind. (tags: energy environment b) [...]
[...] TIDAL POWER: East coast getting tidal energy projects , World’s first commercial-scale tidal power turbine begins feeding electricity to the grid: SeaGen … [...]
[...] a fraction the size of the Pentland Firth proposal, such as the Marine Current Turbine’s SeaGen project took 13 years to gain regulatory [...]
Assuming (as stated) 1.2MW each, and that USA consumed over 450GW in 2005, it would take 375,000 of these to power USA electrical needs, thus replacing dirty coal, less dirty gas fired, and other.
Cost wise, it is not economical to do this.
Nuclear is a better long term, zero green house gas emittor and economical option. Yes, nuclear is cost competitive with advanced coal with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). It is also cost competitive with natural gas with CCS with NG at $7/MCF (in July of 2008, NG was $13, but has dropped recently below $7, which shows cost volitility of this fuel (which is reflected back into electricity price 93%)
Nuclear waste problems have been solved for some time, Europe is recycling spent nuclear fuel (96% recoverable) which reduces waste amounts and radioactivity problems. USA refuses to acknowledge this, claiming proliferation problems, thus USA stands as an example to the world, while the world is ignoring USA stupidity, and becomming oil independent, with economical and reliable base load electric power.
Ocean tidal, ocean thermal difference, solar, and wind will remain niche, intermittant, energy resources, as they always have. They will continue to require a BACK UP power system to take over when the tides are not moving, the wind not blowing or the sun not shining. You pay for two power systems to get one result. The reality is that this can not be cheaper.
ALL of these renewable resources do not directly produce one drop of oil. They will only offset oil consumption if electric technologies are employed in transportation sector.
So, the engineering that has gone into this tidal power capture, is outstanding and has furthered our knowledge.
I would not hold your breath for long lines to form wanting them to replace their cheaper electric power resources.
[...] at CleanTechnica, we will often write headlines praising developments in things like the ‘the world’s first tidal power turbine‘ or ‘the world’s largest offshore wind farm.’ To set the record straight, [...]
why not put these high output tidel turbins in large ships and balast them to deeper water depths to maxamize water current to turbin ratio, moored to locations along Pacfic/Atlantic, large port areas such as the St. Johns River,Jax.Fla.?
[...] we have been keeping a close eye on Marine Current Turbine’s SeaGen project in the UK, the world’s first commercial scale tidal stream turbine. Well, today there is more big news to report from the strong tidal flows of Strangford Lough as [...]