World’s largest tidal turbine receives additional funding
Scottish engineering firm Orbital Marine Power has secured more funding for the world’s most powerful tidal turbine. On Monday, the firm announced that it had secured $9.64 million, which will go into financing ongoing operations on the O2 turbine, which is the world’s most potent tidal energy generator in this new sector.
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The grid-connected power generator turbine uses 10-meter blades, making it one of the largest and most powerful tidal turbines in the world. The turbine weighs 680 metric tons and has a 74-meter hull structure. The turbine leads the way for many other developers who are seeking to tap the huge energy held in ocean tides.
Related: Tidal turbines power electric vehicles on Scotland’s Yell Island
The project started power generation last year and is poised to lead the way in tidal power generation across the world. The funding came from different sources. The Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB), which was set up in 2020, has agreed to invest $4.77 million in the project. Further, more than 1,000 individuals have also pledged to invest another $4.77 million through Abundance Investment.
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“These debt facilities will be serviced by the long-term sale of electricity from the turbine, forecast at around 100-gigawatt hours of clean predictable energy, delivered to the UK grid or hydrogen electrolyzers over its project life,” Orbital said in a statement.
The support that the project has received from both private investors and the government shows the confidence people have in it. The investments will be recovered over time through the sale of electricity from the facility. According to the firm, the turbine has the capacity to generate 100 gigawatt hours of clean energy over its life, which will be distributed through the primary UK grid.
Mark Munro, executive director at SNIB, said that the investment aligns with the company’s mission of supporting homegrown solutions. With the world at a stage where both governments and private sectors are pushing to end the use of dirty energy, such projects provide solutions that can help many companies go green.
“The company’s unique and scalable approach to tidal stream energy has an important role to play in the journey towards net-zero,” Munro said.
Via CNBC