Irish firm first in tidal energy

Irish renewable energy company OpenHydro has become the first organisation to supply power to the UK's national grid.

Energy generation was instigated for testing yesterday (May 26th) at the European Marine Energy Centre off the shore of Orkney in Scotland, SiliconRepublic reports.

OpenHydro's Open-Centre Turbine works by converting the movement tidal energy straight into electricity. In addition, the commercial deployments will be placed on the seabed, meaning that the structure will be invisible from the surface.

Brendan Gilmore, chairman of the company, told the news source: "This is a hugely significant development not only for OpenHydro, but for the future of the tidal energy industry and security of energy supply."

Mr Gilmore added that the firm intends to install further turbines at sites around the world, including Canada and the Channel Islands.

The UK government has pledged to supply 15 per cent of energy from renewable sources by 2020.