Nova Innovation has won EU funding for a 4 MW tidal energy farm that will be home to the largest number of tidal turbines anywhere in the world. Nova will lead a pan-European consortium that will kick-start mass manufacturing of tidal turbines in the tidal industry at Nova’s headquarters in Edinburgh.  The consortoium led by Nova has won €20 million of EU funding to install the 16 turbine SEASTAR project in Orkney.

First Minister Humza Yousaf said “Nova’s project at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney will accelerate the development of a new industry and helps to show how Scottish ingenuity is helping us to capture the immense potential of renewable energy from our seas and oceans.”

Photo: Nova Innovations

Nova hope the project will build on the Shetland Tidal Array, the world’s first offshore tidal farm, which has been powering homes in the archipelago since 2016.

Nova say they have enhanced technology and slashed the cost of tidal energy by 40%. Nova say tidal energy in the UK could meet 11% of the current electricity demand while the global market could be worth about £125 billion by 2050.

Further information can be read in the Independent and from Nova Innovation.