A floating turbine has been installed on its moorings for the first time at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney.
It was developed and manufactured by Scottish engineering company ScotRenewables tidal power.
The 2MW floating turbine was towed to site by Green Marine’s vessel the Green Isle, leaving Kirkwall earlier this week.
It was connected to its moorings on the Fall of Warness.
Chief executive Andrew Scott, said: “This is a tremendous achievement for the company and, I’d venture: the tidal sector. And it has only been possible through the determination, vision and ingenuity of a small, but highly determined team that has worked relentlessly to get to this exciting milestone. I’d also like to thank the team at Green Marine whose input and professionalism has been a major benefit to us.”
“We see it as a real feather in our cap that we’ve managed to execute a construction and installation programme for a 2MW turbine using only low cost vessels. This will be a short installation but we’ll be seeking to further emphasise clear benefits of our approach in the operational phase where much of the standard maintenance can be carried out with simple crew transfer vessels, and validate a game-changing reduction in cost of energy for the tidal sector.”