MeyGen Secures 400-Megawatt Tidal Energy Project in Scotland

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Scotland's ambitious tidal energy projects took another leap forward this week when the Crown Estate awarded a lease for the 400-megawatt (MW) Inner Sound tidal project.

The Crown Estate, which owns and manages the U.K. seabed to the 12-nautical-mile territorial limit and around half of the foreshore, agreed to a lease with MeyGen, which is a joint venture between Atlantis Resources Corporation (Singapore), International Power (LSE:IPR) (London, England) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) (New York). The 400-MW project, which could generate enough electricity for 400,000 homes, is one of the world's largest planned tidal projects. It takes Scotland's tidal goals from 1.2 gigawatts (GW) to 1.6 GW. Earlier this year, the Crown Estate awarded leasing rights to six wave and four tidal projects in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters, with a combined generating capacity of 1.2 GW. For related news, see March 18, 2010, article - Scotland Awards 1.2 Gigawatts of Marine Energy Projects.

The Inner Sound lies within the Pentland Firth and Orkney waters strategic area, between Caithness on the Scottish mainland and the island of Stroma, and its tidal waters are considered to be among the strongest.

"This agreement, for one of the world's largest commercial-scale tidal energy developments, further confirms Scotland as natural home for marine renewables," said Scottish Government Energy Minister Jim Mather. "With 1.6 GW of planned green-energy deployment, the Pentland Firth is the undoubted jewel in the crown of our wave and tidal resources. We will continue to work with The Crown Estate to support low-carbon developments, ensure communities can reap the benefits, and secure Scotland's position as the green-energy capital of Europe."

"The Inner Sound is known as the crown jewel of the Pentland Firth, and MeyGen has the potential to be a flagship marine energy project," said Dan Pearson, CEO of MeyGen. "The challenge now is to transform that potential into reality. We're looking forward to working with the community, The Crown Estate and the government, employing local people and business, for an entirely new industry."

Last December, Atlantis announced plans to test the world's largest tidal turbine at the European Marine Energy Center (EMEC), which is in the rough seas off the Orkney Islands. The AK-1000 turbine, which sits on the seabed, has a 1-MW capacity generated by a twin set of 18-metre-long rotor blades. The tidal turbine was successfully installed in August this year. For related news, see December 3, 2009, article - Scotland to Test World's Largest Tidal Turbine.

The other winners of Scotland's first marine energy leasing round were:

• 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

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.

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