News

THE prospect of generating electricity from local waters is a step closer after the world’s first commercial scale tidal current turbine was installed in Northern Ireland this morning.

The device, known as SeaGen, was lowered into the waters of Strangford Lough, near Belfast, at around 3.30am. The developers expect that within eight weeks, the turbine will be generating enough electricity for up to 1,000 homes.

Guernsey Electricity, which has identified tidal power generation as potentially the most viable source for renewable energy for the island, has a close interest in the project. The company is a minority shareholder in Marine Current Turbines (MCT), the UK firm behind the technology.

SeaGen is the largest tidal turbine ever produced, and capable of generating up to 1.2 Megawatts of electricity from the movement of the tide.

The installation operation in Northern Ireland has attracted widespread interest from the national media, with front page coverage of the project in the Independent on Sunday, and stories on Channel 4 News, BBC, and the Guardian.

The Independent on Sunday described it as ‘A watershed for clean energy’.

Guernsey Electricity engineering services manager Sally-Ann David was in Strangford earlier this week to see the final preparations for its installation. She said it was a significant development.

‘Obviously this is a significant milestone for MCT, but also very exciting for the development of tidal technology on a commercial scale. It was great to see the backing for this project from the local community of Northern Ireland, and how sensitively the project was managed to carefully integrate into the beautiful environment of the lough,’ she said.

‘We are very confident that this would be a suitable technology for Guernsey.’

MCT also has plans to build a tidal farm capable of producing clean, renewable energy for about 10,000 UK homes off the island of Anglesey in Wales. This is likely to be one of the first commercial scale projects of its type in the world, and could be in operation as early as 2011.

Both Strangford Lough and Anglesey are believed to be prime locations in UK waters for tidal power generation, due to their favourable tidal conditions. Guernsey has also previously been identified as having similar potential.

Engineers are now working to secure the turbine to the seabed in Strangford Lough, as the first stage in the 8-week commissioning phase. It will then be connected to the Northern Ireland power grid, and once generation starts electricity will be fed directly into this supply network.

Scientists from Queen’s University Belfast and St Andrew’s Sea Mammal Research Unit will then begin a three month study to assess any effects on the local marine habitat.