The world’s first community-owned tidal turbine will be made and deployed in Scotland, under a fabrication contract between Scottish firms Steel Engineering and Nova Innovation. The two companies had reached agreement to manufacture a tidal turbine that will be connected to the grid and provide electricity to people in one of the most remote parts of Scotland.
The Nova-30 device, to be used by the North Yell community in Shetland to power a local ice plant and industrial estate, will be fabricated for Leith-based Nova Innovation in Steel Engineering’s newly expanded Renfrew facility. The new premises will help the firm meet its ambition to create 120 new jobs.
The Nova-30 (30kW) tidal turbine employs a horizontal axis, three-bladed rotor to extract reliable and predictable energy from the tides. The turbine, which will be deployed in the Bluemull Sound between the islands of Yell and Unst, will be owned by the North Yell community, which received a grant of £150,000 from the Scottish Government to help its development. It will help regenerate the fragile economy of North Yell – one of Europe’s most remote communities, providing valuable income and supporting local jobs.