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SeaGen To Install Marine Current Turbine
Sea Generation is to install the first marine current turbine capable of generating commercial amounts of energy at Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland. The 1.2MW turbine is capable of powering 1000 homes. The plans were shelved last year when SeaGen were unable to obtain suitable vessel to plant the system in the bed of the lough. SeaGen will be installed by the crane barge Rambiz, in an operation which will take up to 14 days. The turbine will first be picked up from Harland and Wolff in Belfast after final assembly. The SeaGen system will be connected to an existing grid connection adjacent to the sewerage substation south of Strangford. A 450m long HDD bore hole 300mm diameter will be drilled 20m below the seabed so that during installation the 11kV power cable can be pulled through the duct.
"We have carried out extensive engineering and environmental studies to ensure the very best means of installation and operation. As long as the weather is good and there are no last minute operational issues to contend with, we should have SeaGen deployed by the end of March.Strangford Lough has one of the world's fastest tidal flows making it an ideal choice for testing the SeaGen turbine. Whilst no one can be sure of the impact on marine life, the likely impact will be minimal with slow rotar speeds unlikely to cause death or injury to marine mammals. Producing clean energy from such an untapped source will if the results are forthcoming see a boom in the commercial use and viablity of marine current turbines.
Martin Wright, Managing Director, MCT
1 comment:
I live on Cape Cod, where we've been wrangling with the topheavy thought of wind generators, nearly to the point of arms. I think that it could be possible to downscale the size of the "gens" in some way. We have the Gulf Stream running through the Sound, producing a reliably steady current. Why wouldn't an adaptation of a horizontally-placed at @ 40ft., funneled turbine do the job? I've found only one lonely patent. Cost-effectiveness is key.
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