May 27, 2008 - Tidal power has been harnessed to generate electricity for Britain's National Grid for the first time, it has been announced. Tidal power is harnessed off Orkney The move has been hailed as a milestone in the development of marine energy, which could provide up to a fifth of Britain's electricity needs.It came when a single turbine on the Atlantic seabed off Orkney was connected to the National Grid on Monday morning. The area off the north of Scotland is regarded as potentially one of the best in the world for tidal power and has been described as the "Saudi Arabia of marine energy".
Although only a small amount of electricity was initially generated as part of a trial, output will be stepped up over the next few weeks to provide enough power for around 150 homes. More >>>
