Tidal turbines surge to world power record

ENERGY: MeyGen turbines produce enough power for 2,000 homes in a single month

A leading Scottish tidal energy project has claimed a world record for its power output.

In an update to investors, Atlantis Resource said its MeyGen array in the Pentland Firth produced 700MWh of output from two energised turbines during August, enough power for 2,000 homes and a world record for a tidal stream station.

Technical enhancement and the re-energising of the third turbine is expected to drive the figures higher in the coming months.

“The production performance from the installed turbines on the MeyGen project has been very good,” said David Taaffe, MeyGen’s director of project delivery.

“August proved to be a world record month, providing enough energy to power 2,000 Scottish homes from just two turbines.

“With yet another successful installation campaign expertly completed this week by the Atlantis operations team, we expect to continue to break records throughout the rest of the year generating both predictable power and revenue.”

Dr Sam Gardner, acting director of WWF Scotland, said the production figures for MeyGen represented a “really exciting” moment in the industry’s development.

This is a sign that Scotland is really making progress in harnessing the power of our seas and that we’re on our

We expect to continue to break records. DAVID TAAFFE

way to securing a low carbon future,” Dr Gardner said.

“By supporting projects like this one, which provide clean, predictable, homegrown power, the Scottish Government can help fight climate change, strengthen our energy security and drive further job creation in sustainable industries.”

One of Atlantis Resources MeyGen turbines is lowered into the water.