A 1 MW tidal turbine that is due to be installed in Scotland later this year has been unveiled by its manufacturer, Atlantis Resources Corporation.
The 1300-tonne machine is thought to be the largest and most powerful tidal power turbine ever built, and will be put in place at a dedicated berth at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney.
Its unveiling was described by Atlantis as a major milestone for the company as well as for the development of the UK’s marine power industry as a whole. “Today is not just about our technology, it is about the emergence of tidal power as a viable asset class that will require the development of local supply chains employing local people to deliver sustainable energy to the local grid,” said Atlantis CEO Timothy Cornelius.
“The AK1000 [turbine] takes the industry one step closer to commercial scale tidal power projects.”
According to Atlantis the AK1000 tidal turbine will dispatch 1 MW of predictable power at a water velocity of 2.65 m/s. It has an 18 m rotor diameter, stands 22.5 m high and is the culmination of ten years of research and development by the Singapore-based firm.
The AK1000 will be installed on the seabed at EMEC and connected to the local Orkney grid. Its low rotational speed means that the device is environmentally benign, says Atlantis, which began scaled testing of tidal prototype designs in 2002.
Since 2002, Atlantis has built, tested and grid-connected a 100 kW tidal device known as the Aquanator, and a 150 kW device called Nereus. In 2008 it unveiled its Solon (AS) series to the market.
