Tidal Power Generation Array TidalGen Begins Operation in Scotland Deep Dive: How Underwater Turbine Arrays Capture the Energy of Lunar Gravity

On August 8, 2028, British renewable energy company TidalGen announced that its tidal power generation array deployed in Scotland's Pentland Firth strait has been connected to the grid. This is the world's largest tidal energy project, with a total installed capacity of 300 MW and expected annual generation of 1.2 TWh, sufficient to power approximately 300,000 households.

TidalGen's underwater turbines have a diameter of 25 meters, installed 30 to 50 meters below the surface, using tidal flow to spin blades and generate electricity. Unlike wind power, tidal energy's greatest advantage is predictability — tides are driven by lunar gravity, allowing power generation to be forecast years in advance with precision.

TidalGen's engineering director said the Pentland Firth strait's tidal currents reach up to 5 meters per second, making it one of the world's highest-quality tidal energy resources. The array comprises 48 turbines, each rated at 6.25 MW.

Total project investment was 1.2 billion pounds, with an expected payback period of 15 years. TidalGen plans to deploy three more tidal arrays of equal scale around the UK coast by 2030. The Scottish government said tidal energy will supply 8% of Scotland's total electricity demand by 2035.