Released March 18, 2010 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Scotland is on its way to leading the world in the fledgling marine energy sector, following the awarding of leasing rights for 10 projects with a combined generating capacity of 1.2 gigawatts (GW).
The Crown Estate, which oversees the U.K.'s sea beds, awarded leasing rights to six wave and four tidal projects in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters. The competition winners came from a pool of 20 companies, which had proposed a total of 42 projects. The winning projects will be commercial-scale operations and will represent the largest marine-energy concentration in the world. Their combined generating capacity of 1.2 GW greatly exceeds the original capacity target of 700 megawatts (MW).
"Today marks a major milestone in the global journey towards a low-carbon future, with the commercial-scale deployment of marine renewables set to power our economies and help safeguard the planet for generations to come," said Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond. "These waters have been described as the Saudi Arabia of marine power, and the wave and tidal projects unveiled today--exceeding the initial 700-MW target capacity--underline the rich natural resources of the waters off Scotland.
"Leading international energy companies and innovators continue to be drawn to Scottish waters, which boast as much as a quarter of Europe's tidal and offshore wind resource, and a tenth of the continent's potential wave capacity. Together with some 11 GW of planned offshore wind developments, these latest marine renewables projects show that Scotland is powering ahead in the development and deployment of clean, green energy."
The winners of the first marine energy leasing round are:
SSE Renewables, part of Scottish and Southern Energy plc (OTC:SSEZY) (Perth), was the biggest winner in the leasing round, securing exclusive rights to develop 400 MW of wave and tidal energy in Pentland Firth and the Orkney Waters, along with a further 400 MW with its partners Aquamarine and OpenHydro.
The leasing comes in the same week that the U.K. government released its Marine Energy Action Plan. The plan outlines how marine energy could harness enough power for 15 million homes and save up to 70 million tonnes of CO2 by 2050.
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, minister of state for energy, commented: "Harnessing the power of our seas will help us reduce our carbon emissions, provide clean, green, secure and reliable energy, create jobs and provide export opportunities. This action plan sets out our vision for what marine energy can do for the U.K., and what we need to do to make it happen."
IIR's Renewable Energy Database provides extensive coverage on the Wind Energy, Geothermal, Hydroelectric, Landfill Gas-to-Energy and Utility-Scale Solar power plants throughout North America, and is now expanding coverage across the world.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. IIR's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
The Crown Estate, which oversees the U.K.'s sea beds, awarded leasing rights to six wave and four tidal projects in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters. The competition winners came from a pool of 20 companies, which had proposed a total of 42 projects. The winning projects will be commercial-scale operations and will represent the largest marine-energy concentration in the world. Their combined generating capacity of 1.2 GW greatly exceeds the original capacity target of 700 megawatts (MW).
"Today marks a major milestone in the global journey towards a low-carbon future, with the commercial-scale deployment of marine renewables set to power our economies and help safeguard the planet for generations to come," said Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond. "These waters have been described as the Saudi Arabia of marine power, and the wave and tidal projects unveiled today--exceeding the initial 700-MW target capacity--underline the rich natural resources of the waters off Scotland.
"Leading international energy companies and innovators continue to be drawn to Scottish waters, which boast as much as a quarter of Europe's tidal and offshore wind resource, and a tenth of the continent's potential wave capacity. Together with some 11 GW of planned offshore wind developments, these latest marine renewables projects show that Scotland is powering ahead in the development and deployment of clean, green energy."
The winners of the first marine energy leasing round are:
- Wave:
- SSE Renewables Developments Limited (Perth, Scotland), 200 MW for Costa Head site
- Aquamarine Power Limited (Glasgow, Scotland) and SSE Renewables Developments Limited, 200 MW for Brough Head site
- ScottishPower Renewables (Glasgow), 50 MW for Marwick Head site
- E.ON UK (Coventry, England), 50 MW for West Orkney South site
- E.ON UK, 50 MW for West Orkney Middle South site
- Pelamis Wave Power Limited (Edinburgh, Scotland), 50 MW for Armadale site
- Tidal:
- SSE Renewables Developments (UK) Limited (Perth), 200 MW for Westray South site
- SSE Renewables Holdings (UK) Limited and OpenHydro Site Development Limited (Dublin, Ireland), 200 MW for Cantick Head site
- Marine Current Turbines (Bristol, England), 100 MW for Brough Ness site
- ScottishPower Renewables, 100 MW for Ness of Duncansby site
SSE Renewables, part of Scottish and Southern Energy plc (OTC:SSEZY) (Perth), was the biggest winner in the leasing round, securing exclusive rights to develop 400 MW of wave and tidal energy in Pentland Firth and the Orkney Waters, along with a further 400 MW with its partners Aquamarine and OpenHydro.
The leasing comes in the same week that the U.K. government released its Marine Energy Action Plan. The plan outlines how marine energy could harness enough power for 15 million homes and save up to 70 million tonnes of CO2 by 2050.
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, minister of state for energy, commented: "Harnessing the power of our seas will help us reduce our carbon emissions, provide clean, green, secure and reliable energy, create jobs and provide export opportunities. This action plan sets out our vision for what marine energy can do for the U.K., and what we need to do to make it happen."
IIR's Renewable Energy Database provides extensive coverage on the Wind Energy, Geothermal, Hydroelectric, Landfill Gas-to-Energy and Utility-Scale Solar power plants throughout North America, and is now expanding coverage across the world.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. IIR's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
