SeaGen completed: world's first megawatt-scale tidal turbine installed

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.marineturbines.com/3/news/article/9/seagen_completed__world_s_first_megawatt_scale_tidal_turbine_installed/

SeaGen completed: world's first megawatt-scale tidal turbine installed

20 May 2008

Marine Current Turbines Ltd, the global leader in tidal stream technology, has successfully completed the installation of its 1.2MW SeaGen tidal energy system in Strangford Narrows in Northern Ireland.There will now be a 12-week period of commissioning and testing before it starts regularly feeding power into the Northern Ireland grid.

...

Martin Wright, Managing Director of Marine Current Turbines said: "This has been a ground-breaking operation, the like of which has never been attempted before and it has attracted interest from around the world. SeaGen's installation has been filmed by TV crews from North America, Germany and France as well as from Ireland and the UK. MCT's engineering team is to be congratulated for the excellent progress it has made over the past few weeks in very challenging conditions and we now move to the commissioning phase and commercial operation."

When fully operational the tidal system's 16m diameter, twin rotors will operate for up to 18-20 hours per day to produce enough clean, green electricity, equivalent to that used by a 1000 homes. This is four times greater than any other tidal stream project so far completed, including MCT's earlier 300kW Seaflow system installed off Lynmouth in Devon in 2003.

ESB Independent Energy, the retail subsidiary of Ireland's ESB, has signed a Power Purchase Agreement to supply to its customers across the island of Ireland with the electricity produced by the SeaGen system. An official 'switch-on' ceremony is scheduled for late summer.

...

[tridim]

1. Nice, but I see maintenance problems in the future.

Like ropes tangling on the turbines.

[kristopher]

2. This type of tidal has very limited applicability

There are very few places were tide flow produces enough current to make it viable. For example, along the East Coast of the US there is only one inlet that has high enough water speed from tidal flows and the fishermen who fish there effectively blocked the 30-50MW project that was proposed there.

There are other types of tidal on the drawing boards, that may be able to tap into tidal forces though.

[jpak]

4. The Bay of Fundy and coastal Maine has lots of tidal potential - hundreds of MW

http://www.eere.energy.gov/state_energy_program/project_brief_detail.cfm/pb_id=1010

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0815/p06s02-woam.html

http://www.eere.energy.gov/state_energy_program/project_brief_detail.cfm/pb_id=1112

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/060718tidal.shtml

http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070519/NEWS/705190344

[kristopher]

5. Bay of Fundy yes.

That uses a different technology - more like pumped hydro.

Comprehensive resource assessments show little overall potential for either power based on large rises, such as Fundy, or high current speeds, such as the one in the OP. I'm not saying it shouldn't bee used, just that there isn't much to use it on. Other approaches being considered look at large floating platforms using gears to transfer the relatively small changes in platform altitude to spinning turbine energy. The vision is one where the top may be covered with PV or used real estate. Drawing board stuff...

[jpak]

3. K&R

and bookmarked