Orbital Marine Power’s O2 tidal energy turbine is pictured off the coast of Orkney. When you hear the word “turbine,” in conversation, chances are good you’re picturing the same sort of giant windmill-esque apparatuses jutting out of the ground, turning wind into good, clean electricity. But there’s a new kind of turbine on the block—tidal turbines that harness the power of the water’s currents to generate electricity. And this week, we’re getting what one company calls the “world’s most powerful tidal turbine” which has begun converting the ocean’s waves into electricity. That’s according to Orbital Marine Power, a Scottish engineering firm that first launched the 680-metric-ton turbine off the coast of Dundee earlier this year before towing it closer to the European Marine Energy Centre based out of the Orkney Islands in the UK, just north of mainland Scotland. The so-called O2 turbine is currently anchored off the Fall of Warness—a tidal turbine testing site —and connected to a nearby onshore electricity network with the help of some subsea cables. “Our vision is that this project is the trigger to the harnessing of tidal stream resources around the world to play a role in tackling climate change whilst creating […]
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