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Released September 28, 2012 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) -- French engineering company Alstom S.A. (EPA:ALO) (Paris, France) is determined to become a leading player in the young marine energy sector by agreeing to buy U.K. tidal turbine manufacturer, Tidal Generation Limited (Bristol, England).
Alstom has agreed to purchase TGL from Rolls-Royce Plc for an undisclosed amount and the deal is expected to be concluded in the coming months, subject to permissions. TGL's first 500 kilowatt (kW) turbine is already installed at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) at Orkney in Scotland and the company is on track to deploy a 1-megawtt (MW) version of its turbine at the same test centre before the end of the year. It will be tested for a two-year period.
The 500 kW turbine has already fed over 250MWh of electricity into the grid -- enough power for around 300 homes - averaging 12 hours of operation each day. Alstom already has a marine energy research operation going on at Nantes in France.
"With this acquisition, Alstom strengthens its position in a promising market and complements an already large offer of cutting-edge renewable energy technologies" said Jérôme Pécresse, President of Alstom Renewable Power. "This new step sets Alstom as a leader in ocean energies, with its Haliade 150 offshore wind turbine and its stake in AWS Ocean Energy Ltd, Scotland's pioneering company in wave energy, with whom we will provide wave devices for the world's largest wave farm off the coast of Orkney in Scotland. We now intend to be rapidly in a position to participate to pilot farms projects and develop a commercial tidal turbine offering."
TGL's tidal unit is a three-bladed turbine, attached by a tripod to the seabed and which can operate submerged in waters up to 40 metres deep. The design allows the turbine to continually rotate to face the incoming tide while the fact that it is semi-buoyant means it can be easily towed to and from the point of operation without specialist vessels.
In January this year, Alstom teamed up with SSE Renewables, part of Scottish and Southern Energy (PINK:SSEZY) (SSE) (Perth, Scotland), to develop the Costa Head wave energy project. Located north of mainland Orkney, in The Crown Estate's Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Strategic Area, it has a generating capacity of 200 MW, making it the world's largest wave energy project under development at the time. For additional information, see January 20, 2012, article - SSE and Alstom Make Waves at Costa Head Project.
Last month, the world's largest marine energy park was officially launched in the Pentland Firth region of Scotland. The Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Marine Energy Park, as it will be known, incorporates the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Eday, and is in line for up to 1,600 MW of wave and tidal energy projects that have already been awarded licences by the Crown Estate. For additional information, see August 3, 2012, article - Scotland Opens Largest Marine Energy Park.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info'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.
Alstom has agreed to purchase TGL from Rolls-Royce Plc for an undisclosed amount and the deal is expected to be concluded in the coming months, subject to permissions. TGL's first 500 kilowatt (kW) turbine is already installed at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) at Orkney in Scotland and the company is on track to deploy a 1-megawtt (MW) version of its turbine at the same test centre before the end of the year. It will be tested for a two-year period.
The 500 kW turbine has already fed over 250MWh of electricity into the grid -- enough power for around 300 homes - averaging 12 hours of operation each day. Alstom already has a marine energy research operation going on at Nantes in France.
"With this acquisition, Alstom strengthens its position in a promising market and complements an already large offer of cutting-edge renewable energy technologies" said Jérôme Pécresse, President of Alstom Renewable Power. "This new step sets Alstom as a leader in ocean energies, with its Haliade 150 offshore wind turbine and its stake in AWS Ocean Energy Ltd, Scotland's pioneering company in wave energy, with whom we will provide wave devices for the world's largest wave farm off the coast of Orkney in Scotland. We now intend to be rapidly in a position to participate to pilot farms projects and develop a commercial tidal turbine offering."
TGL's tidal unit is a three-bladed turbine, attached by a tripod to the seabed and which can operate submerged in waters up to 40 metres deep. The design allows the turbine to continually rotate to face the incoming tide while the fact that it is semi-buoyant means it can be easily towed to and from the point of operation without specialist vessels.
In January this year, Alstom teamed up with SSE Renewables, part of Scottish and Southern Energy (PINK:SSEZY) (SSE) (Perth, Scotland), to develop the Costa Head wave energy project. Located north of mainland Orkney, in The Crown Estate's Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Strategic Area, it has a generating capacity of 200 MW, making it the world's largest wave energy project under development at the time. For additional information, see January 20, 2012, article - SSE and Alstom Make Waves at Costa Head Project.
Last month, the world's largest marine energy park was officially launched in the Pentland Firth region of Scotland. The Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Marine Energy Park, as it will be known, incorporates the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Eday, and is in line for up to 1,600 MW of wave and tidal energy projects that have already been awarded licences by the Crown Estate. For additional information, see August 3, 2012, article - Scotland Opens Largest Marine Energy Park.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info'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.
