Weekly Intelligence Brief

Free Flow river power

8 May 2008

A small team of engineers in Cornwall has made a breakthrough with the development of a turbine that they claim could solve the commercial viability of tidal power.

The Osprey turbine can be used to create electricity offshore at sea or in tidal rivers and inland waterways. Following successful testing of a model rotor, a reduced-scale model prototype has been developed to assist in the design of a full-scale prototype.

Research and development consultants in renewable energy, FreeFlow 69, conceived the turbine concept while working on design and development work for its offshore Ocean Hydro Electricity Generator (OHEG), a concept using tidal energy to create electricity 24 hours a day.