Moscow. 18 November 2006. An experimental floating unit for a tidal power plant* was launched onto the water at Sevmash Plant in the city of Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk Region. The unit had been produced to order of OAO "HydroWGC".

The official ceremony was attended by Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Northwest Federal District Ilya Klebanov, Chairman of the Management Board of RAO "UES of Russia" Anatoly Chubais, Chairman of the Management Board of OAO "HydroWGC", and Director General of FGUP "PO Sevmash" Vladimir Pastukhov.

The floating unit is equipped with an experimental 1,500 kW orthogonal hydraulic turbine. The turbine was developed by Russian researchers and engineers and has no counterpart in the world.

The peculiarity of the orthogonal turbine is that the direction of its rotation does not change in the rise and fall of the tide. The unique design of the hydraulic unit makes it possible to significantly increase the efficiency of the tidal power plant to 60-70% and reduce the construction cost by 30-40%.

The unit floated in Severodvinsk will be towed to the Barents Sea shore and installed near the Kislogubskaya Tidal Power Plant (TiPP), which is a test site used by OAO "HydroWGC" to thoroughly elaborate the new technologies for TiPPs. This will be followed by testing to study technical peculiarities of TiPP orthogonal turbines and floating units, which will make it possible to start their serial production.

If the tests of the floating unit are a success, this will mean a major breakthrough in the development of tidal power technology both in Russia and globally. According to experts' estimates, the use of tidal power may satisfy one fourth of Russia's annual demand for electricity. Globally, tidal power plants may generate up to 15% of all energy consumed.

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* A floating unit is a non-self-propelled vessel with an orthogonal turbine inside. The vessel is 33 meters long, 10 meters wide; the depth to upper deck is 15.33 meters; the diameter of the working wheel of the hydraulic turbine is 5 meters. The capacity of the synchronous generator is 1,500 kW.