World's "most efficient" deep sea tidal turbine ready for deployment

Tidal current turbine manufacturer Atlantis Resources Corporation has announced that it has successfully completed trials of its new Solon turbines and is now examining installation opportunities in the UK, Australia, Asia and the USA with a view to beginning a commercial roll out of the technology from mid-2009.

The horizontal axis turbine is designed to work in sea water with fast flow currents that is more than 40 metres deep, making it ideal for deep, fast-flowing estuaries. The company claims it is the most efficient tidal turbine ever tested.

Recent tests showed that the turbine performed in a similar way to computer model predictions, said Timothy Cornelius, chief executive of Atlantis Resources.

"This is the result of 10 years hard work and investment, and is testament to our rigorous engineering discipline and application of cutting-edge technology in the design process," he said.

The firm has previously developed and commercially deployed a shallow water turbine known as Nereus which has been grid connected in Australia.

The experience of Nereus and a year of computational modelling made the company confident that Solon would perform as expected, said John Keir, head of research and development at Atlantis.

"We have been working on the blade design for more than 12 months and were able to draw on the lessons learned during the three years of Nereus turbine development for the power take-off system," he said, adding that the company was confident that the new turbines could deliver efficiencies in excess of 60 per cent in two years with each individual turbine producing about 4MW.