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Orbital Marine Power contracts FAUN Trackway for tidal stream turbine anchor fabrication

Orbital Marine Power Ltd has selected FAUN Trackway to manufacture the anchors for its O2 tidal stream turbine.
 
Orbital Marine Power contracts FAUN Trackway for tidal stream turbine anchor fabrication

Orbital Marine Power Ltd has selected FAUN Trackway to manufacture the anchors for its O2 tidal stream turbine.

FAUN Trackway will manufacture four steel anchor structures, along with bespoke mooring connectors, to be installed in the Fall of Warness, Orkney Islands, where Orbital has a berth and grid connection with the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC).

The 2-MW O2 tidal turbine is an optimized version of Orbital’s SR2000 turbine.

“This is a transformational project for Orbital, and for the tidal sector, and these anchors will have the important job of holding the O2 on station so it can generate gigawatt hours of clean, predictable power from the strong tides we have around Orkney — so we are delighted to be engaging the experience and precision of FAUN Trackway for this critical supply,” said Orbital Chief Executive Officer Andrew Scott.

Orbital is also a berth holder at the Morlais tidal energy project venture off Anglesey in North Wales, which is seeking to provide a route to larger arrays of tidal turbines.

Orbital (formerly Scotrenewables) is a Scottish engineering company focused on developing a tidal energy turbine technology capable of producing a step-change reduction in the cost of energy from tidal currents. The Orbital technology has been under continuous engineering development, including testing of scaled systems in tank conditions and open ocean environments, since the company was founded in Orkney in 2002. Orbital were the first company in the world to successfully grid connect a floating tidal turbine in 2011, with their 250-kW scale system, which was operated at EMEC.

FAUN Trackway is a division of the KIRCHHOFF Group and specializes in design engineering, bespoke fabrications, painting, and welding.