Earlier this week, an Orbital Marine Power company succeeded launched its last tidal turbine. Once connected to the European Marine Energy Center off the Orkney Islands, the two megawatts of O2 will have the capacity to generate enough energy to power 2,000 UK homes per year, making it one of the world’s most powerful tidal turbines. powerhouses in the world currently in use.
Construction of the project began in 2019. The O2 is based on Orbital’s previous generation SR2000 tidal turbine. the new model consists of a 239 foot superstructure connected to two turbines with 32 foot long rotors. The blades on these can rotate 360 degrees. It is a feature that allows the O2 to generate energy from the currents without having to move entirely when they change direction. Going forward, Orbital says it also has the option of installing even larger blades on the O2.
Harnessing the power of the ocean has been something the UK has been thinking about for some time. In 2015, a company wanted to build the world’s first off the coast of the country. While the project was ultimately rejected by the government, others went ahead. Just a day before Orbital’s announcement, another Scottish company called Mocean Energy unveiled the , a 65-foot-long prototype machine for the production of tidal power.
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