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The number of tidal power and other offshore renewable energy installations is set to grow significantly around the UK coastline over the coming decades.

However, launching state-of-the-art devices into often turbulent ocean flows has the potential to pose a range of challenges for the tidal energy industry, including uncertainty around how they may interact with the environment.

To address that, a team of scientists used a combination of aerial drone technology and boat-based surveys to map out the complex tidal flows encountered by the world's most powerful tidal turbine—Orbital Marine Power's O 2 , sited in the heart of the Orkney Islands, Scotland.

Unlike conventional tidal stream turbines, the O 2 floats on the sea surface, anchored by mooring lines to the seabed. The platform is over 70 meters long and is connected to the grid at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), with estimates that it could power 2,000 UK homes per year.

The study included highlighting how changing tidal flows, that exceed 8 knots, could impact the device and its performance, but also how the O 2 's wake downstream could impact the placing of other turbines as well as marine habitats.

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