International business backing for leading UK tidal energy company
SIEMENS INVESTS IN MARINE CURRENT TURBINES
British tidal energy company, Marine Current Turbines Ltd, today announces that global engineering firm, Siemens, has invested in the firm alongside the Carbon Trust, High Tide and other private investors.
Following an investment round led by the Carbon Trust in 2009, this latest funding brings the total investment in Marine Current Turbines over the past two months to £8.5million. Investors in the first round included Bank Invest, Carbon Trust, EDF Energy and High Tide.
Lord Hunt, Minister of State for the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change welcomed the new £4.8million funding round saying “Our seas are a fantastic asset that can generate clean, green and home-grown power that will boost our transition to a low carbon economy. I’m pleased that more investors are coming forward to back Marine Current Turbines as they seek to harness the UK’s excellent tidal resources.”
The total funding will help Marine Current Turbines (MCT) in its plans to deploy the UK’s first commercial tidal energy farm in UK waters within the next two years. SeaGen, the company’s world-leading prototype commercial tidal energy turbine, has already exceeded 1,000 hours of operation in Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough, a first for any marine energy device.
René Umlauft, CEO of the Renewable Energy Division of Siemens Energy said: “With this investment in an early stage company we’re securing access to an innovative technology in the field of renewables. As one of the technology leaders in ocean power, Marine Current Turbines is a suitable partner for us to enter the promising ocean power market.”
Martin Wright, Managing Director of Marine Current Turbines said: “Siemens’ investment in MCT underlines the significant commercial potential that exists for tidal energy across the globe, and enables us to draw upon the company’s extensive knowledge and experience in turbine generation technology. We are delighted to have Siemens on board. Siemens is a company with an outstanding international reputation and will help us develop our technology and deliver tidal energy on a commercial and global basis.”
Tom Delay, Chief Executive, Carbon Trust said: “This new deal represents a major vote of confidence in Britain’s marine energy industry. The UK must urgently diversify, decarbonise and secure its energy sources and marine energy could over time provide up to 20% of the UK’s electricity. Generating electricity from the UK’s powerful wave and tidal resource not only plays a crucial role in meeting our climate change targets but also presents a significant economic opportunity for the UK.”
Ends
For further information & images of MCT’s tidal technology:
Marine Current Turbines
Martin Wright, Managing Director Paul Taylor (Taylor Keogh Communications)
Tel: + 44 (0)117 979 1888 / +44 (0)7785 340671 Tel: +44 (0)20 3170 8465 / +44 (0)7966 782611
Email: paul@taylorkeogh.com
Siemens press office
Eva-Maria Baumann
Tel: +49 9131 18-3700
E-mail: eva-maria.baumann@siemens.com
Carbon Trust press office
Tel: +44 (0)207 544 3100
Thursday 25 February 2010
Monday 15 February 2010
Client News-NEW INVESTMENT FOR AWS OCEAN ENERGY
NEW INVESTMENT FOR AWS OCEAN ENERGY
AWS outlines timetable for technology deployment
Scottish wave energy company, AWS Ocean Energy, has secured a £2 million investment from Scottish Enterprise’s Scottish Co-investment Fund and the Shell Technology Ventures Fund 1 B.V. (“STVF1”), an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell.
This is the first-ever investment in AWS Ocean Energy made by Scottish Enterprise whilst it is AWS Ocean’s second tranche of investment from the STVF1, which is managed by Kenda Capital B.V..
The new investment enables AWS Ocean to take forward its plans to develop and deploy its wave power technology as well as help the company in its work to design associated technologies, such as mooring systems, for wider use in the wave and tidal energy sectors.
The new investment follows a review of the company’s technology which has resulted in significant improvements to the system now known as the AWS-III. The design builds on extensive research including offshore testing and detailed modelling of the AWS technology. The improved system will have a generating capacity of between 2.4 and 4MW.
Simon Grey, Chief Executive of AWS Ocean Energy said: “We are delighted to announce this investment by STVF1 and Scottish Enterprise’s Scottish Co-investment Fund as they vindicate our thorough and measured approach to development. STVF1/Kenda are very hands-on and we have benefited enormously from their experience in technology investment on challenging projects. Not only did they challenge our engineering approach but they also required the AWS-III to demonstrate the potential to compete cost-effectively with offshore wind before agreeing to invest further. It is not sufficient to produce a machine that works - we need to produce a machine that can generate electricity at a competitive cost.”
Aruna Subramanian, Investment Principal at Kenda Capital B.V. said: “Drawing on our understanding of offshore engineering and new technology challenges, we are excited by the latest development of AWS Ocean’s wave energy system. We are confident that the team at AWS Ocean, aided by their Technical Advisory Committee, who all have extensive and relevant experience in this sector and in technology development, will successfully address the major challenges faced in harnessing energy from the waves at a commercially viable cost.”
Andrew Sloane, senior investment manager at Scottish Enterprise, said: “This is an exciting investment for Scottish Enterprise, not only because the company is at the vanguard of wave power technology, but also because it marks our first venture with new investment partner Kenda Capital. Going forward, we hope our partnership with Kenda Capital will provide other companies in the already strong Scottish renewables sector with the risk capital required to grow and take advantage of new markets.”
Commenting on the cost of wave power, AWS Ocean’s Simon Grey said: “One of the key drivers behind our review was the cost of energy and the ability to contribute to the Government’s 2020 renewable energy targets. Making sure our customers can make adequate returns from AWS wave power on current tariffs is essential. Also essential is the ability to achieve rapid roll-out and the large scale of AWS-III contributes to both of these.
“Delivering the complete solution will take time. We are already in discussions with partners to ensure that AWS-III is available as a demonstrated commercial product by 2014. Industrial multinationals will be prepared to fund ‘big ticket’ demonstration projects providing that the technology is proven first and so our focus is to do just that: delivering proven technology that actually works.”
AWS Ocean Energy is presently undertaking component and sub-system testing and qualification and is aiming to deploy a full-system prototype AWS-III during 2011. The company is confident that this will lead to deployment of a pre-commercial demonstrator plant during 2013. Throughout this process, the AWS Ocean team will draw on the advice and support of the company’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) which was established following STVF1’s first investment in 2008 (see Notes to Editors).
Notes to Editors
1. AWS Ocean Energy (www.awsocean.com) was established in 2004. The company is chaired by John Anderson, the Chief Executive Officer of Entrepreneurial Exchange.
2. The company’s board and executive management team are advised by a Technical Advisory Committee comprising:
Dr Bruce Storm (formerly of Halliburton and a R&D physicist)
Professor Antonio Sarmento (IST Lisbon, Head of Portugal’s Wave Energy Centre)
Dr Tom Thorpe (wave energy specialist)
Andrew Mill (Chief Executive, NaREC and former Managing Director of EMEC)
Captain Peter Hodgetts (Managing Director of SeaRoc, marine engineering specialists)
3. Kenda Capital B.V. (www.kendacapital.com) is the independently owned manager of STVF1 which made its first investment in AWS Ocean Energy in February 2008. Kenda Capital B.V. and STVF1 maintain a unique technology relationship with Shell. Major investors in STVF1 are Shell, Coller Capital and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. STVF1 also has proprietary access to oil and gas field operations and wells in order to test, prove and demonstrate combinations of new technologies. STVF1 is a unique, large scale investment fund focused at reducing the cost of energy by accelerating the development and deployment of new technologies. Kenda and STVF1 possess a solid energy sector expertise, fostered through its technology relationship with the Shell Group.
4. The Scottish Co-investment Fund is a £72 million equity investment fund established by Scottish Enterprise, and partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund, to invest from £100,000 to £1 million in company finance deals of up to £2 million.
For further information
AWS Ocean Energy (www.awsocean.com)
Paul Taylor/James Court of Taylor Keogh Communications: +44 (0) 20 3170 8465 / paul@taylorkeogh.com / james@taylorkeogh.com
Scottish Enterprise
Andrew Sloane: +44 (0) 141 228 2787 / andrew.sloane@scotent.co.uk
Kenda Capital B.V.
Aruna Subramanian: +31 (0)70 413 4040 / info@kendacapital.com
AWS outlines timetable for technology deployment
Scottish wave energy company, AWS Ocean Energy, has secured a £2 million investment from Scottish Enterprise’s Scottish Co-investment Fund and the Shell Technology Ventures Fund 1 B.V. (“STVF1”), an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell.
This is the first-ever investment in AWS Ocean Energy made by Scottish Enterprise whilst it is AWS Ocean’s second tranche of investment from the STVF1, which is managed by Kenda Capital B.V..
The new investment enables AWS Ocean to take forward its plans to develop and deploy its wave power technology as well as help the company in its work to design associated technologies, such as mooring systems, for wider use in the wave and tidal energy sectors.
The new investment follows a review of the company’s technology which has resulted in significant improvements to the system now known as the AWS-III. The design builds on extensive research including offshore testing and detailed modelling of the AWS technology. The improved system will have a generating capacity of between 2.4 and 4MW.
Simon Grey, Chief Executive of AWS Ocean Energy said: “We are delighted to announce this investment by STVF1 and Scottish Enterprise’s Scottish Co-investment Fund as they vindicate our thorough and measured approach to development. STVF1/Kenda are very hands-on and we have benefited enormously from their experience in technology investment on challenging projects. Not only did they challenge our engineering approach but they also required the AWS-III to demonstrate the potential to compete cost-effectively with offshore wind before agreeing to invest further. It is not sufficient to produce a machine that works - we need to produce a machine that can generate electricity at a competitive cost.”
Aruna Subramanian, Investment Principal at Kenda Capital B.V. said: “Drawing on our understanding of offshore engineering and new technology challenges, we are excited by the latest development of AWS Ocean’s wave energy system. We are confident that the team at AWS Ocean, aided by their Technical Advisory Committee, who all have extensive and relevant experience in this sector and in technology development, will successfully address the major challenges faced in harnessing energy from the waves at a commercially viable cost.”
Andrew Sloane, senior investment manager at Scottish Enterprise, said: “This is an exciting investment for Scottish Enterprise, not only because the company is at the vanguard of wave power technology, but also because it marks our first venture with new investment partner Kenda Capital. Going forward, we hope our partnership with Kenda Capital will provide other companies in the already strong Scottish renewables sector with the risk capital required to grow and take advantage of new markets.”
Commenting on the cost of wave power, AWS Ocean’s Simon Grey said: “One of the key drivers behind our review was the cost of energy and the ability to contribute to the Government’s 2020 renewable energy targets. Making sure our customers can make adequate returns from AWS wave power on current tariffs is essential. Also essential is the ability to achieve rapid roll-out and the large scale of AWS-III contributes to both of these.
“Delivering the complete solution will take time. We are already in discussions with partners to ensure that AWS-III is available as a demonstrated commercial product by 2014. Industrial multinationals will be prepared to fund ‘big ticket’ demonstration projects providing that the technology is proven first and so our focus is to do just that: delivering proven technology that actually works.”
AWS Ocean Energy is presently undertaking component and sub-system testing and qualification and is aiming to deploy a full-system prototype AWS-III during 2011. The company is confident that this will lead to deployment of a pre-commercial demonstrator plant during 2013. Throughout this process, the AWS Ocean team will draw on the advice and support of the company’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) which was established following STVF1’s first investment in 2008 (see Notes to Editors).
Notes to Editors
1. AWS Ocean Energy (www.awsocean.com) was established in 2004. The company is chaired by John Anderson, the Chief Executive Officer of Entrepreneurial Exchange.
2. The company’s board and executive management team are advised by a Technical Advisory Committee comprising:
Dr Bruce Storm (formerly of Halliburton and a R&D physicist)
Professor Antonio Sarmento (IST Lisbon, Head of Portugal’s Wave Energy Centre)
Dr Tom Thorpe (wave energy specialist)
Andrew Mill (Chief Executive, NaREC and former Managing Director of EMEC)
Captain Peter Hodgetts (Managing Director of SeaRoc, marine engineering specialists)
3. Kenda Capital B.V. (www.kendacapital.com) is the independently owned manager of STVF1 which made its first investment in AWS Ocean Energy in February 2008. Kenda Capital B.V. and STVF1 maintain a unique technology relationship with Shell. Major investors in STVF1 are Shell, Coller Capital and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. STVF1 also has proprietary access to oil and gas field operations and wells in order to test, prove and demonstrate combinations of new technologies. STVF1 is a unique, large scale investment fund focused at reducing the cost of energy by accelerating the development and deployment of new technologies. Kenda and STVF1 possess a solid energy sector expertise, fostered through its technology relationship with the Shell Group.
4. The Scottish Co-investment Fund is a £72 million equity investment fund established by Scottish Enterprise, and partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund, to invest from £100,000 to £1 million in company finance deals of up to £2 million.
For further information
AWS Ocean Energy (www.awsocean.com)
Paul Taylor/James Court of Taylor Keogh Communications: +44 (0) 20 3170 8465 / paul@taylorkeogh.com / james@taylorkeogh.com
Scottish Enterprise
Andrew Sloane: +44 (0) 141 228 2787 / andrew.sloane@scotent.co.uk
Kenda Capital B.V.
Aruna Subramanian: +31 (0)70 413 4040 / info@kendacapital.com
Client News-GATEWAY SECURES FIRST GAS STORAGE LICENCE FROM UK DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Monday, February 15th 2010
GATEWAY SECURES FIRST GAS STORAGE LICENCE FROM UK DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
The £600m Gateway Gas Storage project has today received the first gas storage licence to be issued by the UK Government under a new regime designed to encourage the construction of new storage facilities in this country. The licence has been issued under the auspices of the 2008 Energy Act and it consolidates the main environmental and planning consents that were given to the project by the Department of Energy & Climate Change and the UK Marine & Fisheries Agency in November 2008.
George Grant, Chairman of Gateway Storage Company said: “The support and encouragement given by DECC to bring the Gateway Storage project forward has been invaluable, as was the Crown Estate’s agreement of the offshore site licence. We are now fully engaged with the project’s engineering design and are targeting 2014 for the start of commercial storage operations.”
The Gateway facility will add new capacity equal to approximately 30% of current UK storage capacity, sufficient to meet five days of Britain’s average gas demand. Gateway will be built in 20 salt caverns, each the size of the Albert Hall, and sited approximately 750m beneath the surface of the seabed. Located 15 miles offshore, south west of Barrow-in-Furness, the storage scheme will be connected to the National Gas Transmission System via a new pipeline to a gas compression station adjacent to the existing Morecambe gas terminals at Barrow.
Last month (January 21st 2010), Gateway announced that AMEC, Parsons Brinckerhoff and Senergy had been appointed to undertake the detailed engineering design work for both the offshore and onshore elements of the scheme. Their work will support a commitment to construction of the facility at the end of this year (2010) and enable the commencement of gas storage services for the UK market in 2014.
Notes to Editors:
1. The Energy Act 2008 created a regulatory framework in which DECC operates a licensing system that regulates storage for environmental and other purposes whilst the Crown Estate controls the exclusive rights to the seabed and the use of geological structures beneath the seabed for gas storage.
2. Gateway Storage (www.gatewaystorage.co.uk) is a company that was formed to develop the gas storage project and is managed by Stag Energy. Stag Energy (www.stagenergy.com) is an independent company, headquartered in Edinburgh. The company, established in 2002, has extensive experience of managing the development, construction and operations of gas storage and power generation projects in the UK and overseas.
For further information:
Gateway Storage Company Ltd
Andrew Stacey / George Grant
T: +44 (0)131 550 3380
E : astacey@stagenergy.com
ggrant@stagenergy.com
or
Paul Taylor (Taylor Keogh Communications)
T: +44 (0) 20 3170 8465
E: paul@taylorkeogh.com
GATEWAY SECURES FIRST GAS STORAGE LICENCE FROM UK DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
The £600m Gateway Gas Storage project has today received the first gas storage licence to be issued by the UK Government under a new regime designed to encourage the construction of new storage facilities in this country. The licence has been issued under the auspices of the 2008 Energy Act and it consolidates the main environmental and planning consents that were given to the project by the Department of Energy & Climate Change and the UK Marine & Fisheries Agency in November 2008.
George Grant, Chairman of Gateway Storage Company said: “The support and encouragement given by DECC to bring the Gateway Storage project forward has been invaluable, as was the Crown Estate’s agreement of the offshore site licence. We are now fully engaged with the project’s engineering design and are targeting 2014 for the start of commercial storage operations.”
The Gateway facility will add new capacity equal to approximately 30% of current UK storage capacity, sufficient to meet five days of Britain’s average gas demand. Gateway will be built in 20 salt caverns, each the size of the Albert Hall, and sited approximately 750m beneath the surface of the seabed. Located 15 miles offshore, south west of Barrow-in-Furness, the storage scheme will be connected to the National Gas Transmission System via a new pipeline to a gas compression station adjacent to the existing Morecambe gas terminals at Barrow.
Last month (January 21st 2010), Gateway announced that AMEC, Parsons Brinckerhoff and Senergy had been appointed to undertake the detailed engineering design work for both the offshore and onshore elements of the scheme. Their work will support a commitment to construction of the facility at the end of this year (2010) and enable the commencement of gas storage services for the UK market in 2014.
Notes to Editors:
1. The Energy Act 2008 created a regulatory framework in which DECC operates a licensing system that regulates storage for environmental and other purposes whilst the Crown Estate controls the exclusive rights to the seabed and the use of geological structures beneath the seabed for gas storage.
2. Gateway Storage (www.gatewaystorage.co.uk) is a company that was formed to develop the gas storage project and is managed by Stag Energy. Stag Energy (www.stagenergy.com) is an independent company, headquartered in Edinburgh. The company, established in 2002, has extensive experience of managing the development, construction and operations of gas storage and power generation projects in the UK and overseas.
For further information:
Gateway Storage Company Ltd
Andrew Stacey / George Grant
T: +44 (0)131 550 3380
E : astacey@stagenergy.com
ggrant@stagenergy.com
or
Paul Taylor (Taylor Keogh Communications)
T: +44 (0) 20 3170 8465
E: paul@taylorkeogh.com
Wednesday 10 February 2010
Client News-MCT's SeaGen passes 1000 hours landmark
SEAGEN PASSES 1000 OPERATIONAL HOURS OF TIDAL CURRENT ENERGY AT STRANGFORD LOUGH
Wednesday, February 10th 2010
SeaGen, the world-leading prototype tidal energy turbine designed and deployed by Marine Current Turbines Ltd (MCT) has exceeded 1000 hours of operation in Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough. It is the first tidal current or wave energy system in the world to have achieved this milestone.
The 1.2MW tidal current turbine, the largest megawatt scale grid-connected marine renewable energy system in the world, has achieved a capacity factor of 66% and so far delivered 800MWh into the National Grid.
This high capacity factor means that the tidal turbine delivers energy on average at the same rate to be expected from a wind turbine of approximately twice the rated power. Furthermore, the output is totally predictable. This performance has exceeded expectations largely thanks to the intensity of the Strangford Lough tide race and MCT’s own conservative design predictions.
Martin Wright, Managing Director of Marine Current Turbines said: “We are delighted with SeaGen’s performance. Passing the 1000 hours mark is a great milestone which not only demonstrates the potential for tidal power, but will also help to reinforce confidence in extracting energy from the seas in the future.”
Since starting operation in late 2008, SeaGen’s operation has been limited by its licence conditions to daylight hours, and it is only since the autumn (2009) that SeaGen has operated automatically and without the presence of “marine mammal observers” on board. It was this change that has allowed a considerable increase in SeaGen’s operational hours.
The company is now preparing SeaGen for more intensive operation and it is hoped to gain consent for continuous “24/7” operation before the summer. In the next few weeks, MCT’s also plans to run SeaGen under supervision of specialists from DNV (Det Norsk Veritas), one of the world’s leading marine classification societies, to obtain independent verification of its performance.
Martin Wright added: “SeaGen is operating as it was designed to do. Crucially, the operational experience and data that we are gaining every day is hugely valuable as we work towards deploying the UK’s first tidal farm within the next two years. SeaGen is a commercial scale prototype and already we are incorporating into the design of the next machines subtle changes to improve maintainability and reliability which are vital for commercial generation.”
Last week (February 2nd), MCT secured £2.7m from the Carbon Trust’s Marine Renewables Proving Fund to support the company’s evaluation and operation of SeaGen as a precursor to the deployment of a tidal farm by MCT in UK waters.
Notes to Editors:
1. Marine Current Turbines Ltd (www.marineturbines.com) is based in Bristol, England. The company was established in 2000 and its principal corporate shareholders include BankInvest, Carbon Trust Investments, EDF Energy, ESB International, Guernsey Electricity and High Tide. The company has a power purchase agreement with Ireland’s ESB Independent Energy for SeaGen’s output.
2. In September 2009, MCT was ranked the world’s top tidal energy company in The Guardian/Clean Tech Global 100 Survey and in June 2009 won Renewable Energy Developer of the Year in the UK Renewable Energy Association Annual Awards.
3. The SeaGen turbine is subject to a rigorous monitoring programme imposed under its licensing conditions to ensure it does not threaten the marine life of Strangford Lough where it is located. At present, SeaGen is still only permitted to operate in daylight hours and has to be continuously monitored by an observer on-shore using sonar to see that the marine life, in particular seals and porpoises, are not at risk from the 16m diameter twin rotors which rotate at about 14 rpm.
4. SeaGen is accredited by OFGEM as a UK power station and so is a recipient of Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs).
Wednesday, February 10th 2010
SeaGen, the world-leading prototype tidal energy turbine designed and deployed by Marine Current Turbines Ltd (MCT) has exceeded 1000 hours of operation in Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough. It is the first tidal current or wave energy system in the world to have achieved this milestone.
The 1.2MW tidal current turbine, the largest megawatt scale grid-connected marine renewable energy system in the world, has achieved a capacity factor of 66% and so far delivered 800MWh into the National Grid.
This high capacity factor means that the tidal turbine delivers energy on average at the same rate to be expected from a wind turbine of approximately twice the rated power. Furthermore, the output is totally predictable. This performance has exceeded expectations largely thanks to the intensity of the Strangford Lough tide race and MCT’s own conservative design predictions.
Martin Wright, Managing Director of Marine Current Turbines said: “We are delighted with SeaGen’s performance. Passing the 1000 hours mark is a great milestone which not only demonstrates the potential for tidal power, but will also help to reinforce confidence in extracting energy from the seas in the future.”
Since starting operation in late 2008, SeaGen’s operation has been limited by its licence conditions to daylight hours, and it is only since the autumn (2009) that SeaGen has operated automatically and without the presence of “marine mammal observers” on board. It was this change that has allowed a considerable increase in SeaGen’s operational hours.
The company is now preparing SeaGen for more intensive operation and it is hoped to gain consent for continuous “24/7” operation before the summer. In the next few weeks, MCT’s also plans to run SeaGen under supervision of specialists from DNV (Det Norsk Veritas), one of the world’s leading marine classification societies, to obtain independent verification of its performance.
Martin Wright added: “SeaGen is operating as it was designed to do. Crucially, the operational experience and data that we are gaining every day is hugely valuable as we work towards deploying the UK’s first tidal farm within the next two years. SeaGen is a commercial scale prototype and already we are incorporating into the design of the next machines subtle changes to improve maintainability and reliability which are vital for commercial generation.”
Last week (February 2nd), MCT secured £2.7m from the Carbon Trust’s Marine Renewables Proving Fund to support the company’s evaluation and operation of SeaGen as a precursor to the deployment of a tidal farm by MCT in UK waters.
Notes to Editors:
1. Marine Current Turbines Ltd (www.marineturbines.com) is based in Bristol, England. The company was established in 2000 and its principal corporate shareholders include BankInvest, Carbon Trust Investments, EDF Energy, ESB International, Guernsey Electricity and High Tide. The company has a power purchase agreement with Ireland’s ESB Independent Energy for SeaGen’s output.
2. In September 2009, MCT was ranked the world’s top tidal energy company in The Guardian/Clean Tech Global 100 Survey and in June 2009 won Renewable Energy Developer of the Year in the UK Renewable Energy Association Annual Awards.
3. The SeaGen turbine is subject to a rigorous monitoring programme imposed under its licensing conditions to ensure it does not threaten the marine life of Strangford Lough where it is located. At present, SeaGen is still only permitted to operate in daylight hours and has to be continuously monitored by an observer on-shore using sonar to see that the marine life, in particular seals and porpoises, are not at risk from the 16m diameter twin rotors which rotate at about 14 rpm.
4. SeaGen is accredited by OFGEM as a UK power station and so is a recipient of Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs).
Thursday 4 February 2010
Client News-Marine Current Turbines awarded £2.7m by Carbon Trust to enhance its SeaGen tidal system
Marine Current Turbines awarded £2.7m by Carbon Trust to enhance its SeaGen tidal system
Marine Current Turbines has secured funding of £2.7million from the Carbon Trust’s Marine Renewables Proving Fund (MRPF) to support the enhancement of SeaGen, the world’s largest and so far only megawatt scale grid-connected tidal current energy system that has been supplying electricity to customers in Northern Ireland since December 2008.
Martin Wright, Managing Director of Marine Current Turbines (MCT), said: “Securing the MRPF funding is another strong vote of confidence in our SeaGen technology and importantly we are proving that our SeaGen technology works extremely well, supplying power to commercial customers on daily basis.
“The experience that we are gaining from SeaGen’s real-time operation is of enormous value as we seek to improve its efficiency and operational capabilities in advance of deploying further turbines into our first tidal farms. The Carbon Trust funding will be used to assess SeaGen’s operation, our engineering processes, construction and installation techniques and assist us in reviewing and evaluating a range of other important issues.”
Marine Current Turbines aims to deploy its first tidal farm in UK waters during 2012. The company is partnering RWE npower renewables to develop a 10MW tidal farm off Anglesey, and in Canada MCT is working with Minas Bay Pulp & Paper to deploy a single SeaGen device in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia during 2011.
Notes to Editors:
Marine Current Turbines Ltd (www.marineturbines.com) is based in Bristol, England. The company was established in 2000 and its principal corporate shareholders include BankInvest, Carbon Trust Investments, ESB International, EDF Energy, Guernsey Electricity and High Tide. The company has a power purchase agreement with Ireland’s ESB Independent Energy for SeaGen’s output.
In September 2009, MCT was ranked the world’s top tidal energy company in The Guardian/Clean Tech Global 100 Survey and in June 2009 won Renewable Energy Developer of the Year in the UK Renewable Energy Association Annual Awards.
Marine Current Turbines has secured funding of £2.7million from the Carbon Trust’s Marine Renewables Proving Fund (MRPF) to support the enhancement of SeaGen, the world’s largest and so far only megawatt scale grid-connected tidal current energy system that has been supplying electricity to customers in Northern Ireland since December 2008.
Martin Wright, Managing Director of Marine Current Turbines (MCT), said: “Securing the MRPF funding is another strong vote of confidence in our SeaGen technology and importantly we are proving that our SeaGen technology works extremely well, supplying power to commercial customers on daily basis.
“The experience that we are gaining from SeaGen’s real-time operation is of enormous value as we seek to improve its efficiency and operational capabilities in advance of deploying further turbines into our first tidal farms. The Carbon Trust funding will be used to assess SeaGen’s operation, our engineering processes, construction and installation techniques and assist us in reviewing and evaluating a range of other important issues.”
Marine Current Turbines aims to deploy its first tidal farm in UK waters during 2012. The company is partnering RWE npower renewables to develop a 10MW tidal farm off Anglesey, and in Canada MCT is working with Minas Bay Pulp & Paper to deploy a single SeaGen device in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia during 2011.
Notes to Editors:
Marine Current Turbines Ltd (www.marineturbines.com) is based in Bristol, England. The company was established in 2000 and its principal corporate shareholders include BankInvest, Carbon Trust Investments, ESB International, EDF Energy, Guernsey Electricity and High Tide. The company has a power purchase agreement with Ireland’s ESB Independent Energy for SeaGen’s output.
In September 2009, MCT was ranked the world’s top tidal energy company in The Guardian/Clean Tech Global 100 Survey and in June 2009 won Renewable Energy Developer of the Year in the UK Renewable Energy Association Annual Awards.
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