World’s most powerful marine turbine arrives in Orkney

Orkney welcomed the world’s most powerful tidal turbine at the weekend.

Orbital Marine Power’s O2 arrived in the county on Saturday, following launch from the Port of Dundee on Thursday, April 22.

The turbine was towed to Orkney by Leask Marine’s new multicat vessel, the C-Force. It is to be temporarily moored at Deer Sound while final commissioning is completed along with a programme of tow trials. The turbine will then be installed at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) Fall of Warness tidal test site for a long-term project.

Following connection to the national grid, EMEC will undertake an independent power performance assessment for Orbital.

The O2 is Orbital Marine Power’s first commercial demonstrator and represents the culmination of more than 15 years of product development and testing in Orkney. It is envisaged that the O2 will become the basis for first commercial sales of the technology.

Full story in this week’s The Orcadian, available in shops and online from Wednesday.