Tidal Energy On... Then Off Again

The tidal current turbine, known as SeaGen, briefly generated 150kW of power onto the grid as part of its commissioning work, ahead of it achieving full capacity.

SeaGen's power is being intentionally constrained to 300kW during the commissioning phase, but once fully operational, it will generate 1.2MW of power, supplying clean and green electricity to the equivalent of 1000 homes.

Martin Wright, Managing Director of Marine Current Turbines said: "This is an important milestone for the company and indeed the development of the marine renewable energy sector as a whole. SeaGen, Marine Current Turbines, tidal power and the UK Government's push for marine renewables all now have real momentum.

"The marine environment poses a number of unique technical challenges, not least installing SeaGen in an extremely aggressive tide race, so we are delighted that Marine Current Turbines has delivered yet another world-first in this sector. It's a major technical break-through. Our engineering team have done a fantastic job."

SeaGen was installed in Strangford Lough in May of this year and commissioning work has been taking place since then, including the vital grid connection undertaken in partnership with Northern Ireland Electricity.