Atlantis Resources, the firm that owns the world’s largest tidal project MeyGen, has won a two-year, £7.5m-contract from the UK Energy Technologies Institute (ETI).
The contract includes delivery of a multi-turbine structure in order to support two turbines at the MeyGen tidal stream project in Pentland Firth, Scotland.
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The deal marks the start of the second phase of the ETI Tidal Energy Converter (TEC) Project, and will include installation of two Atlantis-owned 1.5MW commercial tidal energy turbines on a separate foundation structure to be built as part of the project.
The total number of turbines installed at the site will thereby go up to six from four and rated capacity will also increase from 6MW to 9MW, which is sufficient to generate power for around 4,500 homes.
The first phase of the TEC project was commissioned in May 2012 and Atlantis had bagged the competitive tender in this phase.
The first phase involved a total system lifetime cost of energy methodology to assess and develop the tidal energy system technologies that can reduce energy cost and ensures deployment at array scale.
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By GlobalDataETI has developed an a patent-pending cost effective turbine foundation design, which will be deployed during the second phase.
The second phase will be carried out in three stages involving detailed design, fabrication and installation of the foundation structure and associated technologies.
The turbine supply and electrical connection to the local grid will be handled by Atlantis.
Atlantis CEO Tim Cornelius said: "We are delighted that the ETI has selected Atlantis to continue to develop its marine project portfolio.
"Phase 2 of the Tidal Energy Converter project will see Atlantis expand its turbine array at the MeyGen site at Scotland and the scale of commercial marine energy generation in the UK.
"The ETI funded technologies to be designed and built as part of this Project have the potential to substantially reduce the cost of energy of installed commercial turbines – improving the economics of tidal energy as part of the UK’s energy mix."
ETI programme delivery director Jonathan Wills said: "Results from the first phase of the project have provided a number of innovations across array system architectures and their operation and the potential impact in the cost of energy produced.
"In phase 2 we intend to demonstrate the most impactful of the innovations at a real site. The project should further enhance industry and investor confidence in tidal energy and help to unlock its potential as a serious contributor to future energy systems."
