Siemens has acquired the majority stake in Marine
Current Turbines Ltd, the UK company based in Bristol,
which develops and builds tidal power systems.
As a pioneering company, Marine Current Turbines has
become a technology leader in tidal power systems. In
November 2011, Siemens increased its stake in the company to
45 per cent. Siemens is planning to complete the acquisition of
Marine Current Turbines in the very near future.
Marine Current Turbines has already successfully
implemented a commercial-scale demonstration project
with SeaGen in Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland.
Since November 2008, two axial turbines with a combined
capacity of 1.2 mw have been providing power to
approximately 1,500 households. SeaGen has to date fed
more than 3 GWh of electricity into the grid. In terms of
power generation this is the largest tidal current power
project to date. Further projects are at the planning stage,
including the 8-mw Kyle Rhea project in Scotland and the
10-mw Anglesey Skerries project in Wales.
Tidal turbines generate electricity by utilizing tidal
current flows. The SeaGen turbine is fixed on a structure
and is driven by the flow of the tides. This technology is
effectively similar to a wind turbine, with the rotor blades
driven not by wind power but by tidal currents. Water has an
energy density that is 800 times higher than that of wind. Twin
rotors turn with the tidal current and optimally track the
direction and speed of flow thanks to blades which can rotate
through 180 degrees. A key advantage is that the generated
power is precisely predictable in the tidal cycle.