Orbital Marine Power has unveiled the designs of its upcoming commercial-production tidal turbine, the Orbital O2 2MW, which is scheduled to be deployed at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney in 2020.

CEO Andrew Scott said: “The Orbital O2 is a low-cost solution for future commercial projects and builds on the features that made the SR2000 an industry breakthrough.

"This optimised turbine will unlock tidal markets around the world at a competitive price and give regulators and investors a new predictable renewable-energy option.”

The Orbital O2 will comprise a 73m-long floating superstructure, supporting two 1MW turbines (one on each side) producing 2MW of power in a tidal current of 2.5m/sec.

With rotor diameters of 20m, it will have a 600m2 rotor area, which is the largest so far on a single tidal generating platform.

Its draught will be less than 3m, to ensure that it can be towed by workboats of modest size.

The system will feature 360deg blade pitching, which will allow safe dynamic control of the rotors and will enable power to be captured from both tidal directions without needing to yaw the entire platform.