Harland & Wolff was gearing up today for a heavy lift operation with a
difference - as the Belfast shipyard bids farewell to a 300 tonne tidal
generating machine.
SeaGen, which is due to be embedded into the seabed of Strangford Lough,
should be generating electricity for the grid by this summer.
The shipyard, which now specialises in renewable energy, has been
responsible for final assembly of the turbine.
The £12m sustainable energy project is a pilot scheme designed to test the
viability of generating electricity from tidal power.
A specially commissioned crane barge, which has come across from Norway,
will be responsible for transporting SeaGen from Queen's Island to
Strangford Narrows.
The barge will be loaded up this week and then, weather permitting, will
transport the turbine to Strangford for it to be set in position.
The operation in Strangford Narrows, which is due to start on Sunday, is
expected to take a fortnight to complete.
This will be followed by a three-month commissioning process, but by this
summer SeaGen should be generating electricity for the grid.
The turbine, the biggest of its kind in the world, will be capable of
generating enough electricity to meet the needs of 1,000 homes.
Martin Wright, managing director of Marine Current Turbines, the company
behind the project, said SeaGen would be able to generate electricity for up
to 18 hours a day.
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