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
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July 17th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Please refer to the River Rance Estuary tidal scheme in France. Average output around 68MW and it has been running for a very long time (40 years or so). the only difference is that this for relatively open water whilst the other involves damming an estuary which would have some effects on the local ecology.
July 17th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Thanks, Hugh. And you are absolutely right about the Rance tidal power plant. I could have/should have been more clear that I was referring to a commercial-scale tidal power “turbine,” as opposed to “system.” I made a few edits to achieve that level of specificity. Thanks again for chiming-in.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
This is a really important development, I think. I’ve always been troubled by the fact that tidal power has such potential, yet previous schemes such as the Rance all involve environmental degradation, as Hugh pointed out. Another problem I read was that tidal barrage systems (where the estuary is actually dammed) require a very large tidal range that is found in fewer than 50 known locations around the world. Does anyone know if the SeaGen requires similarly extreme tidal conditions? If not, it would greatly expand the potential of tidal power development.
More on energy solutions to society’s most pressing challenges: http://www.brightfuture.us/new
July 18th, 2008 at 9:41 am
[...] read more | digg story [...]
July 18th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Nice! Good to see someone looking to help the environment! This is LONG over due!
JT
http://www.FireMe.To/udi
July 18th, 2008 at 10:24 am
First Commercial-Scale Tidal Power System Delivers | nerdd.net…
\r\nThe worlds first commercial-scale tidal turbine developed by British tidal energy company, Marin…
July 18th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Question, how many of these tidal turbines can be in one “area”? Is this turbine the first of many to come or do they have to find another location of sorts?
July 18th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
I wonder what the unforeseen consequences of this “clean” power will be. I don’t mean for this to be FUD, but there is no such thing as “free”. We are taking large amounts of kinetic energy from these tidal currents and using that energy for our own purposes. What if those currents serve a purpose that we don’t yet understand? What if we raise or lower the temperature of a particular section of ocean by a few degrees, thereby wiping out entire species or ecosystems? What if certain species require these currents to find food or to migrate?
Again, not trying to sound alarmist here, just some food for thought.
July 18th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
In eastern Canada. They have been ‘working’ on this technology for decades. Partly because the Bay of Fundy has the biggest tidal waves in the world. Hopefully this project will motivate them to actually do something rather than burn a lot of hot air, which they are very good at, especially if it is coal based.
July 18th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
[...] CleanTechnica, a great site for all things green, has more detail and links to additional infomration. [...]
July 18th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
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.
July 28th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
[...] 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 [...]
July 28th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Required project report for the tidal turban electricity project
August 6th, 2008 at 4:32 am
[...] 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) [...]
August 11th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
[...] TIDAL POWER: East coast getting tidal energy projects , World’s first commercial-scale tidal power turbine begins feeding electricity to the grid: SeaGen … [...]
October 20th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
[...] a fraction the size of the Pentland Firth proposal, such as the Marine Current Turbine’s SeaGen project took 13 years to gain regulatory [...]
October 21st, 2008 at 1:11 am
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.
December 4th, 2008 at 11:15 am
[...] 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, [...]
December 8th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
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.?
December 18th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
[...] 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 [...]
January 14th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
[...] of tidal power development. Just last year a company called SeaGen installed the world’s first commercial-scale tidal power turbine off the coast of Northern Ireland and several companies including Google are exploring the [...]