Orbital Marine’s O2 tidal turbine launch underway

Business Developments & Projects

April 22, 2021, by Amir Garanovic

Scottish tidal energy company Orbital Marine Power is currently performing the launching operation of its O2 tidal energy turbine.

Orbital Marine's O2 floating above the barge (Courtesy of Orbital Marine Power)

Photo of Orbital Marine's O2 floating above the barge (Courtesy of Orbital Marine Power) — Orbital Marine’s O2 floating above the barge (Courtesy of Orbital Marine Power)

The 2MW O2 tidal turbine has been lifted onto a barge on April 21 from the quayside in Dundee, where it was assembled at TEXO Group’s facilities.

UK-based provider of specialist logistics services Osprey Group has been engaged to load out Orbital Marine’s newly built O2 tidal turbine.

The barge, with O2 and its equipment onboard, moved to the float-offsite to be submerged to a depth of seven metres. After that, the O2 will be floated off and tugged out into position.

The launch operation is expected to be completed in the afternoon of 22 April 2021, according to Orbital Marine.

Photo showing Orbital Marine's O2 tidal turbine (Courtesy of Orbital Marine Power) — Orbital Marine’s O2 tidal turbine (Courtesy of Orbital Marine Power)

Following the launch, the O2 tidal turbine will be installed onto its mooring system and grid connection at the European Marine Energy Centre’s (EMEC’s) Fall of Warness test site.

Spanning 72 metres in length, with blade rotor area occupying 600 square metres, the O2 device houses two 1MW turbines at each side, reaching the nameplate power output of 2MW.

Said to be the world’s most powerful tidal turbine, the O2 will be capable of meeting the electricity demand of over 1,700 UK homes every year.