Tidal Power Turbines Producing More Energy Than Expected
Peter Fraenkel, Technical Director and co-founder of Marine Current Turbines, the UK-based company that designed and developed SeaGen, the world’s only commercial scale tidal stream turbine, announced at the Lisbon International Ocean Power Conference that he is "delighted with SeaGen’s performance. It is running reliably and delivering more energy than originally expected in an extremely aggressive environment."
The turbines are powered by a consistent tidal current that surges back and forth with every tide through the Strangford Narrows in Northern Ireland at speeds of up to 10 miles per hour. The generators typically produce enough energy to meet the average electricity needs for 1500 UK homes during each ebb and each flood tide.
"We are getting more energy than expected mainly because the resource is more energetic than originally predicted during earlier surveys," added Fraenkel.
Martin Wright, Managing Director of Marine Current Turbines,
commented: “…this is a practical method of generation that really does
do exactly what it says on the label. It is a hugely significant
milestone for the company to be selling electricity consistently and
earning revenue.”
Although SeaGen has been operational for most of this year, it was not
until September that consent was given to operate without needing to
have marine mammal observers on board and onshore. According to MCT,
extensive data collected so far suggests the seals and porpoises are
“not at any significant risk” and as a result SeaGen is now permitted to
operate unattended and by remote control, as was originally intended.
Martin Wright added: “The expectation is that this radical new
technology can be developed within five to ten years to make a
significant contribution to our future energy needs. Given suitable
market incentives, SeaGen demonstrates that marine renewable energy is
at the cusp of forming the basis for a new UK industry with considerable
world-wide export potential.”