Great Britain plugs in to tidal energy

Living Planet | 09.07.2009 | 16:30

Great Britain plugs in to tidal energy

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: SeaGen uses the power of the tides to create energy

G8 countries have made a strong bid to prevent catastrophic climate change by calling for global warming to be kept to within 2 degrees centigrade above pre- industrial temperatures. To achieve that goal, more of them are turning to renewable energy.

Compared to most of the other G8 countries, the United Kingdom is doing quite well when it comes to renewable energy. Part of that is due to the SeaGen project from the British firm Marine Current Turbines. The company has installed a tidal power plant in Strangford Lough, two hours south of Belfast, in Northern Ireland. Two underwater turbines harness the power of the tide as it rises and falls, pushing water through a narrow gap between the mainland and a peninsula, to produce electricity. The turbines have already started successfully delivering power to the grid and are expected in the coming years to supply 1,000 houses in the area around Portaferry and Strangford with power.