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PRIMRE/Databases/Projects Database/Projects/SeaGen-S Strangford Lough
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SeaGen-S Strangford Lough
The SeaGen-S tidal system was the world’s first-installed commercial-scale tidal energy project. Located in Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough, the 1.2 MW SeaGen-S project, comprising of two 600 kW turbines, required a total investment of £12m.
The project reached an important milestone in September 2012 by producing up to 5 GWh of power since its commissioning. It was equal to the power required by 1,500 households annually. The milestone indicated the completion of the demonstration phase of the project. It exported over 11.6 GWh of power during its life cycle and was successfully decommissioned in July 2019.
SeaGen had a mobile cross arm on a single supporting pile, which was 3 m in diameter and 9 m above the average sea level. The twin rotors generated electricity once the tide ran faster than 1 m/s. At maximum speed, the tips moved at approximately 12m/s, which was approximately 1/3 of the average wind turbine speed. The two rotating blades turned at 14 rpm and drove a gearbox system.
Additional Information
Project Status
Is the project actively being planned or is deployed in the water (active)? Or was the project canceled or completed (inactive)?
Inactive
Project Life Cycle
Project Progress through life cycle:
- Planned: Project has identified a deployment location and is preparing for deployment
- Operational: Project is deployed in the water and is active
- Completed: Project was previously deployed in the water
- Decommissioned: Installation has been fully removed in accordance with regulations
- Canceled: Project was canceled before being deployed in the water
Decommissioned
Max Rated Power Capacity
The maximum amount of electricity that can be produced by project, based on available resources and device nameplate capacity.
1.2 MW
Operational Duration
July 2008 - April 2016
Project Duration
2008 - 2019
Energy Resource
- Tidal
Project Scale
Full-scale
Number of Devices
1
Grid Connectivity
Grid Connected
Waterbody
Strangford Narrows
Site Characteristics
Geographic characterization for the project location:
- Open Ocean: Main body of ocean, not enclosed or partially enclosed by land
- Coastal: Open water near the coast, spanning between land and shelf boundary
- Enclosed Bay: water that is partially surrounded by land, with a mouth open to larger water
- Constricted Channel: A channel where water flows quickly due to narrowing by the land
- River: Water flowing from land towards a larger body of water
Constricted Channel
Country
Ireland
Last Modified
9 June 2025
This Project has the following MRE Devices
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Citation Formats
“SeaGen-S Strangford Lough.” Marine Energy Projects Database: Projects, PRIMRE, United States Department of Energy, https://openei.org/wiki/PRIMRE/Databases/Projects_Database/Projects/SeaGen-S_Strangford_Lough. Accessed <day> <monthRoman> <year>.
Marine Energy Projects Database: Projects. <year>. "SeaGen-S Strangford Lough." Accessed <monthRoman> <day>, <year>. https://openei.org/wiki/PRIMRE/Databases/Projects_Database/Projects/SeaGen-S_Strangford_Lough.
