Tidal power stations2/29/2024 After all, by their own admission, SAE has already received the go-ahead to install an additional 80 MW at the MeyGen tidal power plant, and there is also talk of expanding the project to up to 398 MW. This is expected to significantly reduce the costs of further expansion. The plan is to use a nodal station out at sea to collect the generated electricity before it is transmitted onshore. In the next phase of the project, MeyGen is to receive two additional turbines, each with a capacity of two megawatts. According to SAE, coming in at six megawatts, MeyGen is the largest tidal stream power plant in the world and is also being funded by the EU – with 17 million euros in subsidies. The publicly held company has installed four of these units in the strait between Orkney and the Scottish coast since 2018. By way of comparison: that’s approximately equal to the average power of an onshore turbine. This is small fry compared to Simec Atlantis Energy (SAE), which uses an AR1500 turbine with an output of up to 1.5 megawatts (MW). Largest tidal power station in the world? The project, involving nine companies and research institutes from the UK, Belgium and Sweden, is being funded by the European Union to the tune of 20 million euros. Moving forward, larger turbines and greater production volumes are expected to reduce costs even further. ![]() Eunice now supplies enough electricity for around 40 average British households. Thanks to a new gearless turbine, costs have allegedly been cut by a third, meaning its output can now compete with conventionally generated electricity. Not to mention that it can also be used to supply electricity at market prices.Īnd this is precisely what EnFAIT appears to have achieved thanks to the recently installed ‘Eunice’ turbine with a maximum output of 100 kilowatts (kW). With these turbines, the European consortium EnFAIT intends to demonstrate how a tidal power plant of this type can be built, operated and dismantled using this technology by 2022. It is precisely here, between the two main northern islands of Shetland, Unst and Yell, at Bluemull Sound that the company Nova Innovation installed the fourth of a total of six turbines in October 2020. Conditions are particularly favourable between the islands of Shetland and Orkney. North of Scotland, the water masses flow from the North Sea into the North Atlantic and back. ![]() The British Isles are particularly exposed to the tides. It is no coincidence that two companies making a name for this technology are based in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. This is invaluable not only for grid stability, but also for planning certainty and thus for financing costs. But this form of energy is reliable in that it can be predicted very accurately down to the day and even the hour – and that years in advance. It varies from one location to the next and also depends on factors such as the phase of the moon and the relative position of the sun. Granted, the strength of the current is not always the same. The only difference is they don’t protrude out of the water, but instead rely on powerful currents on the ocean floor, flowing in one direction on a flooding (high) tide, and in the opposite direction on an ebbing (low) tide.Īs with all tidal power plants, their supply is extremely reliable. These turbines are installed on structures anchored to the seabed. Propeller rather than damīut there is another way to convert tidal energy into electricity – based on a simple principle, strongly reminiscent of wind power: the ocean current drives a propeller, connected to a generator. Although other suitable sites do exist, they are few and far between, come with considerable price tags and can impact the local environment. Only six tidal power stations are currently in operation around the world. However, implementing this system economically is not that simple. Modern tidal power plants also harness the incoming tide to generate power. In the past, this involved the use of paddle wheels in mills today it is turbines that generate electricity. ![]() Most tactics have followed the same basic principle: the water is impounded at high tide, and then, at low tide, released through a system which harvests the energy. And yet the energy of the waves is nothing compared to that of the tides, and mankind has harnessed this energy for centuries. Anyone who has ever battled the waves at a beach knows only too well the unbridled power of the sea.
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