Hmmmm - now what do we have here ?

Is this an Irish version of the Loch Ness monster? - Nah of course not...its a tidal turbine of course, what did you think it was?

This morning I left Kilkeel and headed to Strangford to get the Car Ferry to Portaferry for my next 2 days work. On walking around the picturesque harbour I saw this 'thing' in the middle of the main tidal flow of the river. My very knowledgeable cousin informed me that it is:.
The world's first commercial scale tidal energy turbine in Northern Ireland. The tidal energy turbine which looks like a submerged windmill, marks the completion of the first installation phase of 1.2 MW SeaGen Tidal System. SeaGen is located approximately 400 metres from the shoreline, 1 km south of the ferry route between Strangford and Portaferry and has the following features:
- has 16 metre diameter blades
- has twin rotors
- will be turned by the water streaming in and out of Strangford Lough at up to 8 knots
- weighs 1000 tonne
- will operate for up to 18-20 hours per day
- can power up 1000 homes

It looked so surreal sitting in the middle of the river - it didn't look as though it was obviously working at any point during my stay, but the hotel had its lights on so maybe it was!

See link http://www.marinebuzz.com/2008/04/07/worlds-first-commercial-scale-tidal-energy-turbine-installed-in-northern-ireland/

Yo can thank Pheonix Rises for this choice of pic - I was toying with the idea of a lovely sunset but as it was quite rightly pointed out to me " there are lots of sunsets " ........ I know sis but they were lovely sunset blips and I canny cope with blippin and flckrin!