Scotland Planning to Lead World With First Tidal Energy Turbine Farms
The Scotsman reports ScottishPower Renewables is planning to apply for planning permission to develop three tidal energy projects, the world’s first, off the coast of Scotland.
The projects, the first two with 20 turbines each, would be constructed for installation in Pentland Firth, the Sound of Islay and off the North Antrim Coast. The turbines are expected to be 30 meters (approximately 100 feet) in height, with 20-meter blades working at least 10 meters below the water surface.
Sidestepping a major concern common to wind turbines — harm to birds — ScottishPower says, based on tests conducted in Norway, the tidal turbines turn slowly enough to avoid harmful incidents with sea life.
- » See also: #4 Copenhagen, Denmark: Great Bicycle City Photo Tour
- » Get EcoWorldly by RSS or sign up by email.
The Scotsman says:
“Scotland, which aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, has the best tidal resources in Europe and it has been calculated that at least a third of Scotland’s energy demand could be met by tidal renewables.”
The Scotsman quoted ScottishPower Renewables director Keith Anderson:
“The rapid technological advance of tidal power has been startling and is now allowing us to progress plans for substantial projects delivering major environmental and economic benefits,” he said. “Tidal power is completely renewable, being driven by the gravity of the sun and moon, with no carbon dioxide emissions, plus the added benefit of being entirely predictable.”
The plan would have the first two tidal turbine energy farms in production in 2011. It is anticipated that when all three farms are in operation, they will generate 60 megawatts to power 40,000 homes in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Source: The Scotsman online
Image: TidalStream Tidal Partners, under GNU Free Documentation License via Wikimedia Commons
Tidal power is an unobtrusive and relatively free source of very predictable power! My guess is that the blustering Americans and their oil barons, coal mines and Uranium mines will watch this with chagrin and hope it fails. It will not, and the age of spectacular lies and misleading of the public is over. Technologies such as this will develop world wide, demanded by the population who are now well educated in the facts and no longer easy to fool. Thank You Internet for all the truth you bring us.
I guess I’m a blustering American (thanks for the slam, Uncle B), but I thought I was just skeptical. Tidal turbines are not a new idea, by any means, but marine construction of moving mechanical parts is damned difficult in the first place. Beyond that, to my knowledge no sea-powered has yet been designed, developed and deployed that is in any way commercially viable. I look forward to that, but probably not in my lifetime. Finally, in most tidal regions that might deploy such a device, there’s still that period of slack tide, approximately an hour or so out of every six, when the tide stops ebbing or stops flowing and prepares to reverse. You may not like coal, oil and uranium electricity production, but I sure do like that I don’t lose power for for an hour or so four times a day. Maybe they’d like this in Iraq … if they had enough coastline to deploy enough of these to make a difference.
Aside from those niggling little observations, I’m sure glad I’m not navigating ships among these pretty little navigation — and liability — hazards. Other than the foregoing, it sure sounds like a *super* idea.
And for the record, I don’t own any oil, coal or uranium stocks, but I do work for a company that produces coal-fired steam boilers for electricity production. A French company.
Im no expert in renewable tech, but speaking as a native Scot i must say i welcome any new technology which can harness our natural resources to deliver energy for our homes. I would much rather have a series of tidal farms than a new Nuclear Power station any day!