SeaGen delivers power to grid

Bristol, England-based Marine Current Turbines hit a milestone today, announcing that its SeaGen turbine in delivered electricity into the grid for the first time.

The company installed the commercial scale tidal turbine in the water in April, lowering the 1.2 megawatt SeaGen system into the Strangford Narrows in Northern Ireland (see SeaGen swims into Northern Ireland).

Marine Current Turbines said its the world's first commercial- scale tidal power system to deliver electricity to the grid.

"This is an important milestone for the company and indeed the development of the marine renewable energy sector as a whole," said Martin Wright, managing director of Marine Current Turbines.

"SeaGen, Marine Current Turbines, tidal power and the U.K. government's push for marine renewables all now have real momentum."

The news comes on the heels of an announcement from Electricite de France that it plans to put three to six turbines off the northern coast of Brittany (see Tidal power gets modern in France). EDF has not said what company it will be working with for the turbine technology, but EDF already has a hand in the industry through its EDF Energy unit, which owns a stake in Marine Current Turbines.

Marine Current Turbines said its SeaGen in Northern Ireland briefly generated 150 kilowatts of power into the grid as part of the commissioning phase. SeaGen's power is being intentionally constrained to 300 kilowatts during commissioning, but once fully operational the company said it will generate 1.2 MW of power, supplying renewable electricity to the equivalent of 1,000 homes.

Marine Current Turbines expects the testing and commissioning to be complete by the end of the summer . Irish energy company ESB Independent Energy has a contract to purchase the power generated by SeaGen for customers in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.

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