Scotrenewables are currently progressing a project to design, construct and test a 1.2MW full-scale prototype of the SRTT. This phase of the SRTT route to commercialisation is expected to commence in the summer of 2007 and will involve a project cost of £5 million. It is intended to have the SRTT on test at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney by the end of 2008. Scotrenewables have worked closely with EMEC since the centre opened in 2003. As a local facility, EMEC provides the perfect location for Scotrenewables to test its technology.

The facility offers five test berths at depths ranging from 25m to 50m in an area 2km across and approximately 3.5km in length. Each berth has a dedicated cable connecting back to the local grid. The testing facility will be connected to the local electricity grid at Caldale on Eday, and a separate communications link will carry information on device performance back to the data centre in Stromness.

Once commisioned, the SRTT will be tested for an initial 12 month period. The device's unique floating configuration will allow for rapid transit to and from site to harbour-side servicing facility. This will allow for a low-risk, low-cost testing programme, enabling the development team to optimise the performance of the device, along with the access and maintenance procedures involved in future devices.

Future Commercial Projects

Scotrenewables is currently investigating suitable sites for future deployment of commercial SRTT units. Future projects will be made up of "tidal farms" involving multiple SRTT units arranged in arrays similar to modern wind farms. The UK resource is estimated to be in excess of 18TWh per year, with the Pentland Firth between Orkney and mainland Scotland containing over 30% of this UK resource.

Areas with High Tidal Potential in the UK