Tuesday 3 January 2012

Marine turbine enters test period off Orkney

ScottishPower has successfully installed a marine turbine which is set to become part of the world's first tidal power array. The 1MW, 100-foot wide turbine is being tested at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, where it will be tested in rough waters, with greater impact from turbulence and waves.

Keith Anderson, Chief Executive of ScottishPower Renewables said: "This is a major milestone in the development of tidal power technology in Scotland, and for the tidal power industry across the world. Beyond this, we have ambitions to use this turbine as part of even larger scale projects in the Pentland Firth, which we are currently investigating."

The HS1000 tidal turbine has been developed by Norwegian company Hammerfest Strøm, who are partly-owned by Iberdrola, Andritz Hydro and Statoil New Energy. The device has been generating electricity in Norway for over six years.