The tidal turbine was manufactured and launched in Dundee earlier in the year before being towed up to Orkney. It is Orbital’s first commercial turbine and represents the culmination of more than 15 years of product development in the UK.
The 74 metre long turbine is expected to operate in the waters off Orkney for the next 15 years with the capacity to meet the annual electricity demand of around 2,000 UK homes with clean, predictable power from the fast-flowing waters. In a further ground-breaking element of the project, the O2 is to provide power to an onshore electrolyser to generate green hydrogen that will be used to demonstrate decarbonisation of wider energy requirements.
“This is a major milestone for the O2 and I would like to commend the whole team at Orbital and our supply chain for delivering this pioneering renewable energy project safely and successfully” said Orbital CEO, Andrew Scott. “Our vision is that this project is the trigger to the harnessing of tidal stream resources around the world to play a role in tackling climate change whilst creating a new, low-carbon industrial sector.”
The construction of the O2 turbine was enabled by public lenders through the ethical investment platform, Abundance Investment, as well as being supported by the Scottish Government by the Saltire Tidal Energy Challenge Fund.
“With our abundant natural resources, expertise and ambition, Scotland is ideally-placed to harness the enormous global market for marine energy whilst helping deliver a net-zero economy” added Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy Michael Matheson. “That’s why the Scottish Government has consistently supported the marine energy sector for over 10 years, including through the Saltire Tidal Energy Challenge fund, which provided £3.4 million for this project. The deployment of Orbital Marine Power’s O2, the world’s most powerful tidal turbine, is a proud moment for Scotland and a significant milestone in our journey to net zero. I congratulate Orbital Marine, the European Marine Energy Centre and everyone who has made this achievement possible”.
Orbital is now setting its sights on commercialising its technology through the deployment of multi-MW arrays. Supporting this endeavour in UK waters would bring substantial benefits beyond complimenting the clean energy transition, as evidenced in the build of the O2; where around 80 percent of the turbine was delivered by UK suppliers and operation will bring long term employment to coastal communities. As a product of commercialisation costs are projected to fall steeply from roll-out of the technology, as previously demonstrated with wind and solar energy.
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