An experimental floating tidal power plant has been launched at the Sevmash Plant in the city of Severodvinsk, in Russia's Arkhangelsk region.

Developed by HydroWGC, the 33m long, 10m wide plant is equipped with an experimental 1500kW orthogonal hydraulic turbine.

The orthogonal turbine is uni-directional and its rotation does not change with the rise and fall of the tide, providing significant efficiency gains of up to 60-70%.

The unique design of the hydraulic unit also reduces construction cost by 30-40%, the developers say.

The unit will be towed to the Barents Sea shore and installed near the Kislogubskaya Tidal Power Plant, an existing test site.