Osprey to load out O2 tidal turbine

Osprey Group, a UK-based provider of specialist logistics services, has secured a contract from Orbital Marine Power to load out its newly built O2 tidal turbine.

The Orbital O2 turbine, being assembled at TEXO Group’s quayside facilities in Dundee, will be moved from the construction site to a launch site using a line-configuration of Self-Propelled Modular Transporters (SPMTs), according to Osprey.

Once at the launch site, the equipment will be loaded onto a barge. In a world’s first, the barge will then be taken to the float-offsite and submerged to a depth of seven metres, from which point the O2 will be floated off and tugged out into position, Osprey said.

Nigel Fletcher, CEO of Osprey, said: “The innovation behind our logistics lets us develop new methods of logistics’ deployment, and it enables us to transfer those techniques from one sector to the next. We’re thrilled to win this contract and be delivering these services to a client that has the same shared ethos and values – validating the benefits for the planet of combined engineering expertise and a commitment to delivering cleaner energy”.

In spring 2021, 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 where tidal speeds can exceed 3 m/s.

The 2MW O2 tidal turbine will become the world’s most powerful operational tidal turbine, capable of meeting the electricity demand of over 1,700 UK homes every year.