Europe

Orbital Marine Power awards O2 tidal turbine manufacturing contract to TEXO Group

Orbital Marine Power Ltd has awarded the main manufacturing contract for its first commercial O2 tidal stream turbine to Scottish-based TEXO Group.
Orbital Marine Power awards O2 tidal turbine manufacturing contract to TEXO Group

Orbital Marine Power Ltd has awarded the main manufacturing contract for its first commercial O2 tidal stream turbine to Scottish-based TEXO Group.

The multi-million-pound contract marks the start of major construction for the company’s new O2 turbine, which builds on the 2-MW SR2000 turbine, which generated over 3 GWh in its first year of testing at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland.

The 2-MW O2 will enter operation in late 2020 as part of a long-term project at EMEC, Orbital said.

“This is a flagship engineering project for the emerging tidal sector and we are delighted to be working with TEXO Group to showcase the very capable supply chain we are fortunate to have around us in Scotland and the wider UK,” said Andrew Scott, Orbital’s chief executive officer. “The results that we achieved with the SR2000 over the past two years are a convincing validation of our low-cost approach to generating clean, predictable power from tidal stream energy. The Orbital team are really excited to be building on that success with the O2, which we are confident will further reduce costs and cement our position at the forefront of this exciting new renewable sector.”

Financing for the O2 project have included EU Horizon 2020 funding and a £7 million (US$8.9 million) crowdfunding bond Orbital raised at the start of the year. The project also benefits from previously offered market support for the sector via the Renewable Obligation.

 “We are really pleased to have such strong endorsement from the wider UK public of our vision for tidal energy which bridges both an industrial opportunity and a low carbon opportunity,” Scott said. “And we hope the UK Government will work constructively with us towards creating a wider future market opportunity to harness our fantastic tidal energy resources, in turn creating an entirely new domestic low carbon generating industry with sustainable export capabilities.”

Last month, HydroWorld reported that Orbital had awarded a contract to FAUN Trackway to fabricate the anchors for its O2 tidal stream turbine.