(SCOTLAND)

The eyes of the renewable energy world are firmly fixed on Scotland this week after it was announced the most powerful tidal turbine on the planet hit peak power.

And it was all an inside job. Developed and manufactured by one of the country’s leading engineering companies, Scotrenewables, the SR2000 device demonstrated its capabilities at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney.

The 500 tonne floating tidal turbine exported its full 2MW of power into the local grid on 12 April. A milestone moment for tidal energy, it also further strengthens Scotland’s reputation as a global leader in renewable energy.

Andrew Scott, CEO of Scotrenewables, said: “We are tremendously excited to have the SR2000 demonstrating the performance and cost advantages of our floating tidal technology, in line with forecasts, whilst delivering new benchmarks within the tidal sector. This performance resets the bar for the costs of delivering tidal power. Achieving this industry milestone is a goal the team at Scotrenewables have worked tirelessly towards for a long time – the credit lies with them for these fantastic achievements.”

Neil Kermode, Managing Director at EMEC added: “Everybody at EMEC offers their congratulations to Scotrenewables in reaching peak power on the SR2000. This milestone is testament to years of hard work and dedication shown by the Scotrenewables team. It further demonstrates that through dogged, unrelenting innovation tidal energy is getting ever closer to becoming part of our carbon free energy mix.”