Scottish Success for Tidal Power Tests

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) -- Scotland's largest tidal array project has taken a step closer following the successful commercial testing of one of the turbines in waters off the coast of the island of Eday, Orkney.

ScottishPower Renewables (Glasgow, Scotland), which is part of Spanish renewable energy giant Iberdrola S.A. (MCE:IBE) (Bilbao, Spain), has announced that the 1-megawatt (MW) turbine installed off the coast of Eday last December has been providing steady electricity for up to 500 homes and businesses on the island ever since.

The HS1000 turbine is one of 10 that will be installed at the Sound of Islay project on Scotland's west coast, which will be capable of generating enough power for approximately 5,000 homes.

The turbines are made by ANDRITZ HYDRO Hammerfest (Hammerfest, Norway), in which ScottishPower Renewables has a major stake. A prototype of the HS1000 has been generating electricity in Norway for the past seven years. The Sound of Islay project received the green light from the Scottish government in March last year. For additional information see March 22, 2011, article - Scotland Approves World's Largest Tidal Array Project.

"The concept of generating electricity from the natural movement of the tide is still relatively new -- and test projects like this are vital to help us understand how we can fully realise the potential of this substantial energy source," explained Keith Anderson, CEO of ScottishPower Renewables said. "The performance of the first HS1000 device has given us great confidence so far. Engineers were able install the device during atrocious weather conditions, and it has been operating to a very high standard ever since."

He added: "Scotland has the best tidal power resources in Europe, and that's why we are seeing world leading technologies tested here. This device is already providing renewable electricity for Orkney, but the potential is there in our waters to make a significant contribution towards our overall energy needs and our carbon reduction targets".

The performance of the turbine is being monitored by the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) base in Eday, but it can also be monitored from Glasgow via mobile connections and an on-board camera.

Stein Atle Andersen, managing director of ANDRITZ HYDRO Hammerfest said: "The tests being carried out so far have confirmed the design basis for the technology and given comfort concerning the device's capacity. We are still early in the testing programme with endurance, availability and reliability being the most imminent factors for asserting a proper basis for developing commercial tidal energy power plants. However, we are already well into design engineering for the first power plant."

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