Latest:

16:12 Dentists plan to cut staff - survey
16:02 O'Connell reflects on 'bizarre' day
16:02 Dalglish issues apology
16:02 Greek MPs begin vital cuts debate
15:52 Odemwingie stars in derby victory
15:42 Hisaabaat springs to it
15:42 Deloitte is a bookies' benefit
15:42 Another instalment for Last

Strangford Lough tide power goes on the grid

Friday, 18 July 2008

The first electricity in the world made by tidal power has gone into the national grid.

Enough green energy to supply 150 homes was generated as a test ahead of full-blown production in a few weeks’ time.

The first commercial tidal turbine, SeaGen, is at Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough and run by Marine Current Turbines (MCT) Ltd.

Managing director Martin Wright said yesterday: "This is an important milestone for the company and indeed the development of the marine renewable energy sector as a whole.

"SeaGen, MCT, tidal power and the UK Government’s push for marine renewables all now have real momentum."

Once Seagen is fully operational it will generate 1.2 megawatts of power, supplying the equivalent of 1,000 homes.

Mr Wright said it was a major technical breakthrough and said his engineering team had done a fantastic job.

Print
Text Size
- Normal
- Large
- Extra Large

Saw this for the first time last week on our way into Portaferry Marina It seems to lean towards the South - is this intentional ?

Posted by John Ogden | 11.08.08, 12:31 GMT

the sheer beauty of tidal power is that it is there every day, we do not have wind every day and in the winter our daylight hours are limited showing the benefits of tidal over alternative renewable's.

Congratulations to Harland and Wolff for the part they played in this project someone has commented and I agree. Unlike the Titanic , this structure was meant to sink.

I am all for Nuclear also, as long as new power stations are built in the heart of capitol and major cities, after all they are safe - aren't they?

Posted by anotherbenson | 19.07.08, 02:26 GMT

Great to see our wee Norn Iron at the forefront again! Well done to all concerned. I see it every day as I travel on the Strangford ferry and smile.

Posted by Ian Millar | 19.07.08, 00:37 GMT

Great to see the tide being used to generate power. The Annapolis Royal tidal generating station, on a sub-basin of the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada, has been operational since 1984, I believe. It produces 18 MW of power.

Posted by Tony Kernahan | 19.07.08, 00:30 GMT

Congratulations to Harland and Wolff for the part they played in this project – regardless if you agree or disagree with the principles of green power there is no doubt of the technical and engineering expertise that H&W provided in this unique project.

Posted by Robert | 18.07.08, 21:38 GMT

The Strangford Lough installation is far from providing the first electricity from tidal power. In any case, it's a folly. It's time we took the energy problem seriously and embraced nuclear generated power as the only viable long term solution to our needs.

Posted by John | 18.07.08, 17:19 GMT

Great news. Something Belfast deserves to be proud of for a change.

Posted by Jack Cade | 18.07.08, 17:13 GMT

Interesting to know & hopefully it'll be the first of many.

Posted by Peter | 18.07.08, 17:00 GMT

This is an important development and kudos to the company but to claim that it is the first in the world is simply ridiculous. There are quite a few installations operating in the world.

Posted by Joe Harron | 18.07.08, 14:20 GMT