Rolls-Royce has achieved a significant milestone in the deployment of tidal energy technology with confirmation that its prototype tidal turbine, located subsea off the Orkney Islands, Scotland, has successfully generated and fed over 100 megawatt hours (MWh) of electrical power into the national grid. The 500kW tidal turbine prototype was designed and built by Rolls-Royce wholly owned subsidiary Tidal Generation Ltd.
Installed as part of the Deep-Gen III project, co-funded by the UK government-backed Technology Strategy Board, the Rolls-Royce prototype tidal turbine is currently deployed at the European Marine Energy Centre’s (EMEC) offshore test site off the Orkney Islands, Scotland.
Installed as part of the Deep-Gen III project, co-funded by the UK government-backed Technology Strategy Board, the Rolls-Royce prototype tidal turbine is currently deployed at the European Marine Energy Centre’s (EMEC) offshore test site off the Orkney Islands, Scotland.
It is the first EMEC located project to both receive Renewable Obligation Certificates and to reach 100MWh of supply to the grid. The tidal unit’s three-bladed turbine is attached by a tripod to the seabed and can operate, fully submerged, at water depth of 40m. Its design allows the turbine to continually rotate to face the incoming tide at an optimal angle. In addition, the turbine unit is semi-buoyant and can be towed to and from the point of operation, minimising installation and maintenance costs by avoiding the need for specialist vessels.