World First as Shetlands Tidal Turbines are Connected to the National Grid

engineering careers  World First as Shetlands Tidal Turbines are Connected to the National Grid

Turbines installed on Bluemull Sound, just off the coast of Shetland, are being heralded as marking a “new era” in tidal energy

Nova Innovation, the company running the project, has now successfully deployed a second turbine after the first was installed earlier in the year.

This marks a world first, as Nova believes this to be the only fully operational, commercial, grid-connected offshore tidal array.

Currently, the array is made up of two 100kW turbines. Long term the array will see 5 Nova M-100 turbines submerged in Bluemull Sound. This should allow the array to generate 0.5MW for the Shetland grid.

Nova-Innovation-CGI-of-Nova-M100-tiday-turbine
3D render of Nova Innovations 100kW turbine

Tidal energy offers a few benefits over other forms of renewable power. It is far more predictable and can generate an output across all tidal conditions. The turbines themselves are designed for diver-less installation and maintenance.

The array has been created with an 80% Scottish supply chain underlining the companies commitment to the local economy.


Turbine location in Bluemull Sound

While tidal energy represents a fairly small percentage of the UKs energy output, the UK Carbon Trust estimates the global market could be worth over £126 billion by 2050.