17/07/2008 - 19:29:58

The first electricity obtained from tidal power in the world has been put on to the national grid in the North, managers of the project said today.

Enough green energy to supply 150 homes was generated as a test ahead of full-blown production in a few weeks’ time.

The first commercial-scale tidal turbine, SeaGen, is at Strangford Lough and run by Marine Current Turbines (MCT) Ltd.

Managing director Martin Wright said: “This is an important milestone for the company and indeed the development of the marine renewable energy sector as a whole.

“SeaGen, MCT, tidal power and the UK Government’s push for marine renewables all now have real momentum.”

Once Seagen is fully operational it will generate 1.2 megawatts of power, supplying the equivalent of 1,000 homes.

Mr Wright said it was a major technical breakthrough and said his engineering team had done a fantastic job.

The North's energy secretary John Hutton said: “This kind of world-first technology and innovation is key to helping the UK reduce its dependency on fossil fuels and secure its future energy supplies.

“Marine power has the potential to play an important role in helping us meet our challenging targets for a massive increase in the amount of energy generated from renewables.”

 

(source: breakingnews.ie )