The MeyGen tidal stream array, owned by Simec Atlantis Energy, is a huge tidal power plant in UK waters, just 2km from Scotland’s north-east tip. To date, it has exported over 25.5 gigawatt-hours of electricity to the grid since becoming operational in 2017. The project sent a record-breaking 13.8 gigawatt-hours(GWh) of electricity to the grid in 2019, double its previous high of 7.4GWh in 2018.
The project is doing so well because the 3.5km site covers some of the fastest flowing waters in the UK. The uninhabited island of Stroma to the north and the mainland to the south create a natural channel that accelerates the millions of tons of water streaming between the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean daily.
Phase 1A of the project, the part currently pumping power into the grid, is comprised of four 1.5 megawatt (MW) turbines. The 2019 record of 13.8 GWh exported was enough to power approximately 3,800 “typical” homes in the UK, the company said. The revenue generated from the project amounted to £3.9 million ($5.09 million).
Ocean energy is being described as both renewable and abundant by the European Commission. It estimates that tidal power has the potential to contribute around 10% of the European Union’s power demands by 2050.
Atlantis is currently planning to develop an “ocean-powered data center” in addition to producing electricity. The center will monitor the ocean energy it is generating and will be located near the MeyGen project.
The first-ever tidal power plant was built as far back as 1966 in France, EDF’s 240 MW La Rance Tidal Power Plant. However, it hasn’t been until recently that new projects have come to fruition.
Aside from MeyGen, there’s a project under development by Scottish tidal energy business Nova Innovation. In December 2019, the company was issued a permit to develop a new tidal project in Nova Scotia, Canada. That power plant will consist of 15 tidal stream turbines that are set to be installed by the end of 2023. According to the firm, the project will generate enough electricity to power 600 homes.
Another project underway is the development of the “world’s most powerful tidal turbine” by a business called Orbital Marine Power. One single turbine will have a sweep area of over 600 square meters and be able to generate “over 2 MW from tidal stream resources.” The station will use a 72-meter-long “floating superstructure” to support a pair of 1 MW turbines.
