A tidal turbine being tested for use in the world’s first tidal
turbine array in Islay on the West coast of Scotland has proved
a success in hostile waters off the North of Orkney. Scottish
Power Renewables fitted their HS1000 turbine at the end of last
year and it has already been hooked up to the grid and is
powering the Orkney Island of Eday. The 1MW machine is weighed
down on the seabed 50 metres below the surface of a stretch of
water called the Fall of Warness. It has some of the strongest
tides in the world with an Atlantic swell colliding with the
North Sea. Tides in the area can reach up to 8 knots in Spring
tides. Keith Anderson CEO of Scottish Power Renewables said: The
performance of the HS1000 has given us great confidence so far.
We have already greatly developed our understanding of tidal
power and this gives us confidence ahead of implementing large
scale projects in Islay and the Pentland Firth. Surveys have
shown Islay and the Pentland Firth, on the South coast of
Orkney, to have some of the