Atlantis Resources Ltd, a global leader in the tidal power sector, has announced another significant milestone in the development of MeyGen, Europe’s largest tidal power project, which is currently being built in the Pentland Firth.
The first installed Andritz Hydro Hammerfest turbine is now operating at full power -each MeyGen turbine is capable of generating 1.5 megawatts of power when the water speed reaches just over 3.0 meters per second, or around six knots of flow. Operation at full power is significant as it allows for validation of the power curve models which underpin the financial assumptions of the project.
MeyGen Project Director, David Taaffe, commented:
“It is extremely satisfying to see all of the meticulous planning and preparation come to life and be validated in the field. Andritz has done a wonderful job in commissioning this system, drawing on many years of operational experience. This will be one of many milestones to come as we now build on this successful start and continue to roll out the world’s largest tidal power array. It is an important day for my entire team and all of our contractors.”
Atlantis is aiming to be the world’s leading developer of tidal power projects - in July last year, the group completed its acquisition of Marine Current Turbines from Siemens, and in May this year concluded its purchase of Scottish tidal project assets from ScottishPower Renewable for its Scottish tidal-development company, Tidal Power Scotland.
In April Belgian offshore services company Deme said it had agreed to buy a 2 per cent stake in Atlantis’ TPSL arm in a £2 million deal valuing the business at £100 million.
By the early 2020s, MeyGen intends to deploy up to 398 megawatts of offshore tidal stream turbines to supply clean and renewable electricity to the National Grid. These are expected to generate enough predictable and emissions-free electricity to power 175,000 Scottish homes.
In May this year Atlantis reported a maiden annual profit, which the group is looking to continue to build on year on year, with revenue-generation expected to really take off once the first phase of the project goes live.
Atlantis is already receiving inquiries from around the globe on a daily basis, with companies and governments in Canada, France, South Korea, Japan and China and beyond “all looking to the Atlantis portfolio of projects and to MeyGen to be a success”.
As well as an army of contractors, the firm currently has 60 full-time employees. Atlantis CEO TimCornelius is expecting this to move into the hundreds “very rapidly” if MeyGen’s early phases prove successful. He added that the business would like to have a multi-billion-pound pipeline of projects under construction both in Scotland and across the UK, with a “strong international portfolio” including one large project up and running in Asia and another in North America.