SeaGen was the world's first large scale commercial
tidal stream generator.
[
][
][
] It was four times more powerful than any other tidal stream generator in the world at the time of installation.
[
] It was successfully decommissioned by SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited in summer 2019, having exported 11.6GWh to the grid since 2008.
The first SeaGen generator was installed in Strangford Narrows between
Strangford
Strangford (from Old Norse ''Strangr fjörðr'', meaning "strong sea-inlet") is a small village at the mouth of Strangford Lough, on the Lecale peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 475 at the 2001 Census.
On the ...
and
Portaferry in
Northern Ireland. Strangford Lough was also the site of the first known
tide mill in the world, the
Nendrum Monastery mill
The Nendrum Monastery mill was a tide mill on an Mahee Island in Strangford Lough now in Northern Ireland. It is the earliest excavated tide mill, dating from 787 AD. Its millstones are 830mm in diameter and the horizontal wheel is estimated to hav ...
where remains dating from 787 have been excavated.
History
Marine Current Turbines, the developer of SeaGen, demonstrated first prototype of tidal stream generator in 1994 with a 15 kilowatt system in
Loch Linnhe
Loch Linnhe () is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. The part upstream of Corran is known in Gaelic as (the black pool, originally known as Loch Abar), and downstream as (the salty pool). The name ''Linnhe'' is derived from the Gaelic w ...
, off the west coast of
Scotland. In May 2003, the prototype for SeaGen, '', was installed off the coast of
Lynmouth,
North Devon
North Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. North Devon Council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon District include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and Lynmouth ...
, England.
[ Seaflow was a single rotor turbine which generated 300 kW but was not connected to the grid. SeaFlow was the world's first offshore tidal generator, and remained the world's largest until SeaGen was installed.][
]
The first SeaGen generator was installed in Strangford Narrows between Strangford
Strangford (from Old Norse ''Strangr fjörðr'', meaning "strong sea-inlet") is a small village at the mouth of Strangford Lough, on the Lecale peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 475 at the 2001 Census.
On the ...
and Portaferry in Northern Ireland, in April 2008 and was connected to the grid in July 2008. It generated 1.2 MW for between 18 and 20 hours a day while the tides are forced in and out of Strangford Lough through the Narrows.[
] Full power operation was finally achieved on 18 December 2008.[
][
]
Technology
SeaGen generator weighed .[
] It consists of twin axial-flow rotors, each driving a generator through a gearbox like a hydro-electric or wind turbine. These turbines have a patented feature by which the rotor blades can be pitched through 180 degrees allowing them to operate in both flow directions – on ebb and flood tides. The company claims a capacity factor of 0.59 (average of the last 2000 hours). The power units of each system are mounted on arm-like extensions either side of a tubular steel monopile some in diameter and the arms with the power units can be raised above the surface for safe and easy maintenance access.[ The SeaGen was built at Belfast's Harland and Wolff's shipyards.][
]
Environmental impact
SeaGen has been licensed to operate over a period of 5 years, during which there will be a comprehensive environmental monitoring programme to determine the precise impact on the marine environment.[
]
References
External links
Marine Current Turbines Ltd
{{Electricity generation in Ireland
Tidal stream generators
Tidal power stations in Northern Ireland
Scottish inventions