Giant tidal turbine successfully installed on the seabed at the EMEC facility
August 24th, Orkney: Atlantis Resources Corporation has successfully deployed its AK1000™ tidal turbine – the world’s largest and most powerful tidal turbine – on its subsea berth, in 35 meters of water at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, Scotland.
The installation follows the turbine unveiling ceremony, held in Invergordon on August 12th and attended by officials and dignitaries from seven different countries. After the event, Atlantis, in conjunction with Hallin Marine, mobilised the 22.5 meter tall, 1300 tonne structure on to the DOF vessel, the Skandi Skolten, to be taken to Orkney. Once there, it took just seven days to install the gravity base structure, over 1000 tonnes of ballast blocks and finally, the turbine nacelle, complete with its twin set of 18 meter diameter rotors.
Drew Blaxland, Chief Technology Officer at Atlantis, commented:
“The entire team at Atlantis, together with our onshore and offshore technology and construction partners, is delighted with this installation programme. The large rotor diameter of the turbine and the tight tidal windows we had to operate within presented significant challenges, but these were overcome with meticulous preparation, a ‘can-do’ attitude and the discipline to apply the right resources to what was a major offshore engineering operation.”
The AK1000™ will now undergo electrical connection to the power export cable recently laid by EMEC at its facility, located at the Fall of Warness in Orkney. These operations are expected to take up to two weeks, depending on weather conditions. Atlantis has established a dedicated control centre on the Island of Eday from which the AK1000™ turbine can be controlled and monitored.
“This is yet another significant step towards proving to stakeholders, project sponsors, regulators and the general public that tidal power is the most exciting emerging technology in the renewable power generation mix”, said Atlantis CEO, Tim Cornelius. “The installation of tidal turbine systems is a key component in achieving economic viability for tidal power projects. Atlantis has proven that with adequate planning, appropriate resource and the adoption of technology developed over the past 20 years in the oil and gas industry, commercial scale turbines can be installed safely and cost effectively, even in the most challenging of open ocean locations.”
The AK1000™ now starts a commissioning and operation program that will last up to three years and the power generated from it will be dispatched into the local grid in Scotland.