World's Largest Underwater Turbine Installed

Massive structure off Northern Ireland will start producing electricity later this year
By Gregory Mone Posted 04.08.2008 at 9:39 am 3 Comments
seagen turbines: Photo by Marine Current Turbines

The concept of harvesting the ocean as an energy source is nothing new, but in practice it's rarely utilized. That's beginning to change, though. This week, the first major underwater turbine was installed in Northern Ireland's Strangford Narrows—a body of water known for its fierce currents. SeaGen's twin blades measure 52 feet wide, and instead of intermittent winds, this green electricity generator will rely on the ever-changing tide to produce power for around 1,000 homes. Built by Marine Current Turbines, it will be operational this summer.

Related Articles

Step 7: Ride the Waves for Watts
Making Better Surf and Cleaner Power

Tags

The Environment, alternative energy, environment, green power, Gregory Mone, tide power, undersea turbines, wind turbines
The blades are designed for bi-directional flow, so that they turn regardless of which way the tide is rushing. They'll spin 10 to 20 times per minute. The company says this is slow enough to allow fish and other sea creatures to get out of the way if they're swimming on through. But it certainly doesn't sound like anything a diver would want to approach.

This Seagen installation may be just the first step. As part of another project, the company is also hoping to install a farm of underwater turbines off Wales that would be capable of powering thousands of homes.

3 Comments

Comments

GreekSamiotis
Article Rating:
1
2
3
4
5
 04/08/08 at 4:36 pm

The United States should start adopting these green technologies for the future of our children and stop being dependant on Arab and other foreighn oil producing nations. President Bush and Vice President Dick Chaney are oil men and only think of their own pockets & the pockets of big oil companies. They do not care about the futre of the middle class.

1 out of 2 people found this comment helpful
mpederse
Article Rating:
1
2
3
4
5
 04/08/08 at 5:22 pm

I just wonder why they dident put a Windmill on top of it to add som extra power ?

0 out of 0 people found this comment helpful
collins661
Article Rating:
1
2
3
4
5
 04/09/08 at 8:55 am

mpederse before putting a windmill anywere one studies the quality of the wind. i imagine the structure here is optimized for the stress applied to the structure in two directions ie the direction of the tides back and forth. if the mainstream of the wind isn't parallel to the direction of the tides it's not worth the trouble of erecting a sturdier structure, collins

1 out of 1 people found this comment helpful

POPSCI'S 21ST ANNUAL BEST OF WHAT'S NEW


Every year, PopSci honors the top 100 innovations in categories such as consumer products, medical tech and engineering.

Learn more and submit your product or technology today at popsci.com/enter.

PPX: The PopSci Predictions Exchange

RSS Link

The Environment

  • Northwest Passage Commercial Use

    Will the Northwest Passage be used for commercial shipping purposes by September 30, 2008?

  • Arctic Ocean Oil Rush

    This proposition will pay out at POP$100 per share if oil from a rig in the Lomonosov Ridge, the Beaufort Sea or the Chuckchi Sea is produced and packaged for export by January 1, 2010.

Ready to bet on the future? Start here!

Subscribe for 2 free issues!

may2008_cover.jpg