A further testing milestone was achieved when the SR250 was put through its paces in a first full-power tow test. On 7^th December the multicat MV Orcadia towed the SR250, north of Kirkwall harbour, achieving full-power of 250kW for the first time. Scotrenewables CTO Mark Hamilton stated “Tow trials allow us to simulate real tidal conditions in a controlled way to test all on board systems. Reaching fully rated power is a significant milestone for us and is testament to the hard work of all the team. The full-power test went extremely well and successfully demonstrated our floating turbine’s ability to produce power stably and efficiently.”

This full-power tow test marks the end of successful tow trial testing of the SR250. Early in the New Year the SR250 will be lifted onto Hatston Pier for a scheduled inspection period and fitting of some additional onboard instrumentation. While the model is out of the water at Hatston, Scotrenewables will be holding an Open Day (date to be confirmed) for members of the public and schools to come and visit the site to find out more about the technology and view the turbine up close. Anyone interested should get in touch with Scotrenewables Stromness Office. Following the inspection period the SR250 will be lifted back into the water in advance of more prolonged testing at EMEC through 2012.

Scotrenewables Tidal Power Limited was shortlisted for three awards at the International Tidal Energy Summit in London on November 22^nd. The Company received the ‘Best Newcomer’ award in recognition of the Company’s achievements in designing, constructing and installing the SR250 prototype on time and under budget. According to Business Development Manager, John McGlynn “The arrival of the ‘full scale’ SR250 in Orkney back in March really was a defining moment for Scotrenewables Tidal Power Limited. It marked our arrival into the marine energy industry proper and put us on an equal footing with other technology developers also testing at full scale. We are delighted to receive some recognition for this achievement”.

Picture below shows CTO Mark Hamilton recieving the award.

The team at SRTP have reached a significant milestone by successfully completing a 24 hour on-site deployment of the SR250 at the EMEC tidal test site. Using a modest sized work vessel, the team connected the SR250 to its moorings at the Fall of Warness on 19^th November, and remained onsite closely monitoring the turbine during a full 24 hour period. During the test all on-board systems functioned well and as predicted and the SR250 successfully demonstrated its ability to passively orientate itself in the tidal flow throughout two complete tidal cycles.

Senior Hydrodynamicist & Operations Co-ordinator Calum Miller said “We are delighted with the results from the first 24 hour connection as this has proven we can connect and disconnect the SR250 quickly, safely and efficiently without having to use large and expensive installation vessels”.

SRTP CEO Barry Johnston will attend a series of round table discussions, commencing on Friday 28th October, as part of a task force designed to streamline energy planning and consents for marine renewable developmemtss in Scottish waters.

The work of the group will focus on:

• Further streamlining the planning and consenting process, promoting partnership working between developers and stakeholders leading to a comprehensive pre-application engagement
• Simplifying planning and consenting advice
• Driving best practice
• Summarising current streaming activity underway
• Resourcing
• Consistency in modelling
• Better communication with industry and stakeholders
• Securing better access to data and sharing it widely

These factors will contibute towards SRTP goals of establishing a commercial array demonstation of the SRTT technology up to 30mw capacity in Scottish waters.