Reports related to this article:
Project(s): View 3 related projects in PECWeb
Released September 02, 2014 | GALWAY
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - Work has ground to a halt at the proposed 10-megawatt (MW) Skerries tidal array project in Wales following the loss of a vital government grant in June.
German engineering major Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany) has stopped work at the project just months after a £10 million ($16.6 million) grant awarded by the government to the project under the Marine Energy Array Demonstrator (MEAD) scheme was withdrawn. Siemens' owned Marine Current Turbines (MCT) (Bristol, England) received the grant but was unable to match the funding from other investors, which meant the project would not be developed within the grant's deadline of 2016.
"Following discussion with our partners we have decided to suspend our work on the Skerries Tidal Array Project in Anglesey, Wales," the company stated. "We will continue to review our strategy for deployment. Our discussions with suppliers and other key stakeholders are ongoing on different opportunities. We continue to believe that tidal energy will play an important future role in delivering the UK's low carbon economy and creating long term sustainable jobs. This was a business decision between MCT/Siemens and our partners in the project."
The Skerries Tidal Stream Array -- with a total capacity of over 10 megawatts (MW) - aimed to use up to nine, twin rotor SeaGen turbines, developed by MCT. Arranged across an area of just over half a kilometre they would use the tidal flow to generate enough power for more than 10,000 homes on the island of Anglesey -- about 20% of its electricity needs. The project is valued at 79 million ($111 million).
In 2012, Siemens bought the majority stake in Marine Current Turbines. For additional information, see February 23, 2012, article - Siemens Dives into Tidal Energy Market.
It was better news for another U.K. tidal project in recent weeks when the Meygen project in Scotland raised 64 million ($84 million) through a funding syndicate comprising the U.K.'s Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC), Scottish Enterprise via the Renewable Energy Investment Fund, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, The Crown Estate, and Atlantis Resources Limited (Edinburgh, Scotland). The construction of the demonstration phase will now commence later this year and involve deploying six submerged turbines with a combined generating capacity of 9 MW in the Inner Pentland Firth just north of Caithness. Phase one will eventually see 61 turbines deployed with the potential to generate up to 86 MW of electricity, enough to power 42,000 homes - or 40% of all the homes in the Scottish Highlands. Over the coming decade, the developer aims to deploy up to 269 turbines which will generate 398 MW of electricity. For additional information, see August 22, 2014, article - Europe's Largest Tidal Scheme Finds Grid Partner.
View Project Report - 300031307 78000528 300034476
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, 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. To contact an office in your area, visit the www.industrialinfo.com "Contact Us" page.
German engineering major Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany) has stopped work at the project just months after a £10 million ($16.6 million) grant awarded by the government to the project under the Marine Energy Array Demonstrator (MEAD) scheme was withdrawn. Siemens' owned Marine Current Turbines (MCT) (Bristol, England) received the grant but was unable to match the funding from other investors, which meant the project would not be developed within the grant's deadline of 2016.
"Following discussion with our partners we have decided to suspend our work on the Skerries Tidal Array Project in Anglesey, Wales," the company stated. "We will continue to review our strategy for deployment. Our discussions with suppliers and other key stakeholders are ongoing on different opportunities. We continue to believe that tidal energy will play an important future role in delivering the UK's low carbon economy and creating long term sustainable jobs. This was a business decision between MCT/Siemens and our partners in the project."
The Skerries Tidal Stream Array -- with a total capacity of over 10 megawatts (MW) - aimed to use up to nine, twin rotor SeaGen turbines, developed by MCT. Arranged across an area of just over half a kilometre they would use the tidal flow to generate enough power for more than 10,000 homes on the island of Anglesey -- about 20% of its electricity needs. The project is valued at 79 million ($111 million).
In 2012, Siemens bought the majority stake in Marine Current Turbines. For additional information, see February 23, 2012, article - Siemens Dives into Tidal Energy Market.
It was better news for another U.K. tidal project in recent weeks when the Meygen project in Scotland raised 64 million ($84 million) through a funding syndicate comprising the U.K.'s Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC), Scottish Enterprise via the Renewable Energy Investment Fund, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, The Crown Estate, and Atlantis Resources Limited (Edinburgh, Scotland). The construction of the demonstration phase will now commence later this year and involve deploying six submerged turbines with a combined generating capacity of 9 MW in the Inner Pentland Firth just north of Caithness. Phase one will eventually see 61 turbines deployed with the potential to generate up to 86 MW of electricity, enough to power 42,000 homes - or 40% of all the homes in the Scottish Highlands. Over the coming decade, the developer aims to deploy up to 269 turbines which will generate 398 MW of electricity. For additional information, see August 22, 2014, article - Europe's Largest Tidal Scheme Finds Grid Partner.
View Project Report - 300031307 78000528 300034476
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, 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. To contact an office in your area, visit the www.industrialinfo.com "Contact Us" page.
