The world’s first tidal stream power plant is producing electricity in Kvalsundet, Norway. The unique underwater facility will produce 32 GWh per year.
Power is generated by a series of windmill-like devices located 50 meters under the sea at the bottom of a remote strait. Tidal currents moving at 2.5 meters per second turn three 10-meter fiberglass blades attached to a row of 20 water mills. The blades rotate a hub that is connected to a gearbox and a shaft that drive a generator contained within a nacelle. The generator converts the rotational shaft energy into electricity, which is transmitted to shore via a cable on the seabed.