Belfast, Ireland [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Plans to install one of the word’s first commercial scale tidal energy systems in Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough have been published by Marine Current Turbines Ltd (MCT). The company is targeting the installation of its 1.2 megawatt (MW) SeaGen tidal system for the end of March.
The 1.2 MW SeaGen device in Strangford Lough has been adapted to allow it to be installed by a crane barge rather than a large vessel. The process will take up to 14 days and is scheduled to start on March 23rd. Once installed and during the 12-week commissioning phase, a team of environmental scientists will be in Strangford Lough to closely monitor SeaGen’s operation and its interaction with marine life.
“There is global interest in SeaGen as it will be the first and largest commercial tidal stream device to be installed anywhere in the world, and so we can expect its installation to be a springboard for the further development of the marine energy industry in the UK and the island of Ireland. Looking ahead, MCT intends to manufacture and deploy a series of SeaGen devices in projects off Anglesey and on the Canadian seaboard within the next 2-4 years,” said Martin Wright, managing director of MCT.
