SCOTLAND is starting to make real progress in harnessing the power of our seas, according to one of the country’s leading environmental groups.
The remarks from Lang Banks, director of WWF Scotland, came as a renewable energy scheme off the north coast of Scotland that aims to become the world’s biggest tidal power initiative generated its first electricity.
The MeyGen project in the Pentland Firth saw its first turbine installed last week. Yesterday, its developer, Atlantis Resources, announced it has now produced its first power.
Bosses expect a further three 1.5 megawatt (MW) tidal turbines to be installed by the end of this year in an initial 6MW phase of development. They hope the project, with £23 million in Scottish Government funding, will have 269 turbines, bringing its capacity to 398 MW – enough electricity to power 175,000 homes.
Tim Cornelius, chief executive of Edinburgh-based Atlantis, said: “This is the moment we have been working towards since we first identified the MeyGen site back in 2007 and I am immensely proud of and grateful for the remarkable team of people who have contributed to this milestone.
“I look forward to bringing more news of the project development over the coming weeks and months as we move into the full operational phase.
“It’s especially exciting to be making this announcement on the morning after the first ‘super moon’ in 68 years – last night, those of us with clear skies were able to get a good view of the powerhouse behind tidal energy.
“The success of this first phase is a foundation for the tidal industry to build upon to ensure we develop a new energy sector which can deliver clean, predictable and affordable power from the UK’s own abundant resources.”
The tidal energy farm was hailed as a “significant moment” when it was launched in September at a ceremony at the Nigg Energy Park, outside Inverness, attended by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Banks said: “News of the first electricity to come from what will hopefully become one of the world’s largest tidal power schemes is a really exciting moment. Well done to all those involved.
“Coming only a few months after turbines off Shetland generated their first power, it’s a sign that Scotland is really starting to make progress in harnessing the power of our seas.
“Along with action to improve energy efficiency, marine renewables have the potential to play a role in powering our homes and businesses in the future.”
The turbine that produced the electricity was supplied by Andritz Hydro Hammerfest (AHH), a German-based multinational, and was successfully installed last week then plugged into the pre-laid cable that connects to the onshore control centre and grid export point.
It followed the successful installation by GeoSea NV in October of all four foundation structures.
Over the past few days, AHH has been working to establish communications with the turbine and verify that the on-board safety and monitoring systems are operational. Now, working with the British digital technology group ABB, the team has started the process of powering up the turbine to tune its control system for optimised generation.
It was during this part of the programme the project exported electricity for the first time, using only the tidal water flows of the inner sound of the Pentland Firth.
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