The MeyGen tidal energy project in the Pentland Firth generated £2.1 million in revenues for its owner over the past year, according to figures out today
SIMEC Atlantis Energy said its flagship £51 million project – whose backers include the Scottish Government – was reaping the benefits of becoming fully operational with all four turbines under the first phase of the scheme now successfully installed and delivering power to the grid.
“The array has generated over 17 gigawatt hours of sustainable energy to date and has exported more electricity to grid than any other tidal project,” said the firm, which has its commercial and project development headquarters in Edinburgh.
However, overall group losses for the year rose to £24 million from £10.6 million in 2017 which the company said reflected the significant changes it has undergone during the year including the acquisition of Uskmouth Power.
Tim Cornelius, chief executive of Atlantis, said 2018 was a “breakthrough year” for the company with progress on MeyGen and the acquisition of the 220MW Uskmouth power station.
“Our ambition is to grow quickly to become the leading independent generator of sustainable energy in the UK and we are making significant steps towards achieving that goal,” he said.
“Our sustainable energy projects are not just good business, they are making a meaningful contribution towards tackling some of the biggest issues facing society today: climate change and the war on plastics.”
In October the company announced plans to extend the MeyGen project by adding two new turbines.
The new turbines, which are capable of generating up to 2MW using more powerful generators and larger rotor diameters, will use a new subsea connection hub and share a single export cable.
The innovations will significantly reduce project infrastructure costs by removing the requirement for a dedicated export cable for each turbine and should also result in reduced installation costs.
