An Orkney-based tidal-energy firm said today it had successfully generated power and exported it to the national grid.
Scotrenewables Tidal Power, based near Stromness, also said its SR250 device was the world’s first floating tidal-energy turbine to export power to the grid.
The machine, which is moored to the seabed but floats on the surface of the sea, generates power through rotors spun by the tidal current.
It was installed at the European Marine Energy Test Centre site at the Fall of Warness, Orkney, last week and began generating and exporting power on Sunday.
Barry Johnston, Scotrenewables founder and managing director said: “Sunday’s successful export of power was a very significant day in the history of Scotrenewables.
“This achievement is a great testament to the efforts of the team. We still have a long way to go but we look forward with confidence to building up to longer-term, higher power tests over the course of the summer.”
The prototype machine was built at Harland and Wolff in Belfast towards the end of 2010 and has been under testing since.
Scotrenewables’ aim is to move on to create a commercial prototype. It says it has already started working on a two megawatt SR2000 design.
The firm was founded in 2002 by Mr Johnston and now has nearly 20 staff.
It has had funding from French energy giant Total and the renewables arm of Norwegian firm Fred Olsen.
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