Rolls-Royce turns the tide on renewables
Tuesday, 8 November 2011Charles Hendry MP, Minister of State at the Department for Energy and Climate Change visited Tidal Generation Limited (TGL), the Bristol based Rolls-Royce subsidiary which is pioneering tidal energy technology with an innovative subsea project off the Orkney Islands, Scotland.
Harnessing the reliable and predictable energy of tidal streams, the Rolls-Royce tidal turbine unit has successfully generated and fed over 100 megawatt hours (MWh) of electrical power into the national grid.
Charles Hendry MP commented: “The UK is leading the global renewables industry in the development of pioneering tidal energy technology. Our proposals to support the technology, under the Renewables Obligation, show that we are serious about getting marine into the mainstream.”
“I am delighted that Rolls-Royce is playing a lead role by transferring technology know-how from its wider power generation businesses to its successful Orkney Islands pilot project. This and similar projects will be instrumental in enabling cleaner, greener tidal power to fulfil its potential as part of a diverse UK energy mix.”
- Rolls-Royce is a world-leading provider of power systems and services for use on land, at sea and in the air, and has established a strong position in global markets - civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy.
- As a result of this strategy, Rolls-Royce has a broad customer base comprising more than 500 airlines, 4,000 corporate and utility aircraft and helicopter operators, 160 armed forces, more than 4,000 marine 2 customers, including 70 navies, and energy customers in nearly 120 countries, with an installed base of 54,000 gas turbines.
- Annual underlying revenues were £10.8 billion in 2010, of which more than half came from the provision of services. The firm and announced order book stood at £61.4 billion at 30 June 2011, providing visibility of future levels of activity.
- Rolls-Royce employs over 39,000 skilled people in offices, manufacturing and service facilities in over 50 countries. Over 11,000 of these employees are engineers.
- In 2010, Rolls-Royce invested £923 million on research and development, two thirds of which had the objective of further improving the environmental performance of its products, in particular reducing emissions.
- Rolls-Royce supports a global network of 28 University Technology Centres, which connect the company’s engineers with the forefront of scientific research.
- The Group has a strong commitment to apprentice and graduate recruitment and to further developing employee skills.
Turning the Tide on Renewables: Energy Minister Charles Hendry MP visited Bristol to take controls of Rolls-Royce remotely operated tidal energy turbine which is located subsea off the Orkney Islands, Scotland and has successfully generated and fed over 100 megawatt hours of electrical power into the national grid.
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