By the end of the year, twin underwater turbines should be generating 1.2 megawatts of electricity off the coast of Northern Ireland in a landmark demonstration of tidal power technology.Marine Current Turbines, a company based in Bristol, UK, had hoped to begin installing the turbines at Strangford Lough (Google map) on Monday, but the construction barge scheduled to deliver the turbines was delayed. A company spokesman says the installation will now take place later in 2007. It will be the world's largest tidal power project.
The underwater turbines look and work very much like wind power turbines. Each blade is 15 to 20 metres across and is mounted on an axis that attaches to a 3-metre-wide pile driven into the seabed.
Tide-driven currents will move the rotors at speeds of between 10 and 20 revolutions per minute, which the company claims is too slow to affect marine life. The turbines will drive a gearbox that will, in turn, drive an electric generator and the resulting electricity will be transmitted to the shore via an underwater cable.
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