The company aims to use the testing to refine the prototype with a view to setting up a full scale manufacturing base for the turbines in Shetland as well as evaluating the islands’ potential for producing renewable energy.

During testing, the prototype turbine will be attached to an anchored ship and the electrical energy that is produced by the strong tidal currents at each site will be measured to determine the best site to locate a full scale tidal generator station. This full scale version would be used to generate electricity to the Shetland grid.

Inge Pettersson from Seapower said, ‘The tidal currents in Shetland are among the best to be found and have a very big energy potential. Besides this, the wave climate in Shetland is the second best in the world, outstanding for the production of offshore wave energy using our Floating Wave Power Vessel.’

Meanwhile, another tidal turbine developed by Professor Ian Bryden from Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University has received a £158,000 research grant from the Scottish Executive and will begin tests early next year in the Eynhallow Sound near Orkney.

His ‘Snail’, which can be dropped to the ocean floor and fixed in place without the need for heavy drilling or cables, can thus be installed cheaply and without environmental impact, significantly increasing the number of sites suitable for installations. Bryden believes the Snail could harness enough tidal energy to power a population of 15 million people and hopes to see it operational within three to four years.

Unlike other underwater turbine proposals which require anchors drilled into the seabed, the bus sized Snail is towed to the desired position and sunk to the seabed by flooding four buoyancy cylinders. Each 150kW output Snail is held in place by six hydrofoils which rotate and automatically adjust to the direction of the tide, creating powerful downforce. Electricity is transferred to the national grid through cables along the seabed and the Snail can be recovered simply by pumping air back into its cylinders. It is expected to stimulate international demand for prefabricated tidal current devices which can be installed without specialist equipment.

MJ Information No: 18817