The innovative floating tidal turbines from Scotsrenewables are tethered by cables rather than to fixed foundations. This makes installation easier and allows turbines to use tidal forces more optimally. There are two turbines, producing 2 MW total. That’s enough for well over a thousand homes. Each turbine is 64m in length with rotor diameter of 16m.
The huge advantage of tidal turbines is the energy they will produce is completely predictable because the tides are predictable. During a 24 hour test period, one turbine produced 7% of needed energy for the Orkney Islands, with bursts up to 25%. Imagine what a couple of dozen of them could do!
The shape and design of Scotrenewables technology has been developed to enable low cost fabrication and incorporates established well understood technologies with a simplified and cost effective installation and maintenance process. This approach embodies key technical advantages over seabed mounted alternatives as it eliminates the need for the majority of high risk underwater operations and high cost vessels required for installation and maintenance.