Scotland Plugs Tidal Power into Electricity Grid  

Forbes reports that tidal power company Atlantis has launched its first project in Scotland - Scotland Plugs Tidal Power into Electricity Grid.

Scotland plugged the first commercial scale tidal-power turbine into the central power grid earlier this week.

Atlantis Resources, a Singapore-based marine renewables developer, installed the 1-megawatt tidal-power turbine at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, Scotland.

Equipped with a rotor measuring roughly 60 feet in diameter, the three-bladed horizontal-axis AR1000 aims to be among the world’s most powerful single-rotor tidal turbine, delivering 1 MW of power from tidal resources moving at speeds of about eight feet per second.

The system weighs 1,500 tons and stands about 75 feet tall on a seabed-mounted tripod foundation.

Plans for a tidal power vessel in the Humber to generate electricity for a Hull aquarium have been approved.

The Neptune Proteus device will use the tides of the estuary to power The Deep.

The 150-tonne generator is expected to be deployed in the autumn. It is hoped five additional units will be installed in the future to generate energy for 5,000 homes.

Colin Brown, chief executive of The Deep, said the Humber had "massive" potential as a power source.

Mr Brown said: "Because of the nature of the aquarium, pumps are running 24/7 - we have a requirement for power all the time - and this one installation is anticipated to provide perhaps 30 or 40 percent of our entire electricity load."