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Headline: Scotland's Orbital Marine Power Launches The World’s Most Powerful Tidal Turbine

Caption: Scotland's Orbital Marine Power has completed building what it claims will be the world's most powerful operational tidal turbine. The 680-tonne Orbital O2, which is 72m (236 ft) long, was assembled at the Port of Dundee over the past 18 months before making it's journey to Orkney last week (Thursday 22nd April). The operation was managed by Osprey Shipping Ltd. and saw the 680-tonne tidal turbine transferred from the Forth Ports quayside facility in Dundee into the River Tay using a submersible barge. The launch marks the completion of the turbine build, managed by TEXO Fabrication, and the O2 will now be towed to the Orkney Islands where it will undergo commissioning before being connected to the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) where it will become the world’s most powerful operational tidal turbine producing enough electricity to power 2,000 homes. Speaking of the launch, Orbital’s CEO, Andrew Scott, said: “This is a huge milestone for Orbital; the O2 is a remarkable example of British cleantech innovation and the build we have completed here is an inspiring display of what a UK supply chain can achieve if given the opportunity – even under the extraordinary pressures of a pandemic.” The turbine's superstructure will float on the surface of the water, with rotors attached to its legs. These will extract energy from the passing tidal flow. Scott said: "We've been developing this technology here in the UK for over 15 years.' "We're looking now to sell these units and sell the electricity on a commercial, competitive basis and this turbine is very much the first part of that process."

Keywords: feature,photo feature,photo story,tech,technology,design,science,turbine,future,Orbital Marine Power Ltd (Orbital),Scottish-based developers,world's most powerful,operational,Orkney Islands

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