Atlantis Resources boosts tidal power portfolio

Atlantis Resources has boosted its tidal energy portfolio by acquiring two projects from ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) in an all-share deal.

The deal includes a 100MW development at the Ness of Duncansby in the Pentland Firth and a 10MW project at the Sound of Islay in western Scotland.

The projects were acquired by Atlantis's development vehicle, Tidal Power Scotland Limited (TPSL).

In exchange, SPR has gained a 6% shareholding in TPSL.

The project assets include lease agreements with The Crown Estate for both sites, while the Sound of Islay development also has a grid connection offer and construction consents from Scottish ministers.

Atlantis said the two projects would sit alongside its flagship 398MW MeyGen tidal energy scheme in the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth, which separates the north Caithness coast and Orkney.

The firm eventually plans to have up to 269 turbines installed on the seabed there.

'Leading the world'

Earlier this year, Atlantis bought Marine Current Turbines from Siemens AG, providing it with lease agreements for two further Scottish tidal sites - at the Mull of Galloway in south-west Scotland and Brough Ness, to the north of the MeyGen and Ness of Duncansby sites.

Atlantis is in the process of adding these two projects, with a combined capacity of 130MW, to the TPSL portfolio.

By 2022, the company aims to have at least 640MW of installed capacity in the UK through developing its existing portfolio.

Atlantis chief executive Tim Cornelius said: "The UK is now synonymous with tidal power in the same way tech is with Silicon Valley.

"Thanks to the dedicated support provided by the Department for Energy and Climate Change and the Scottish government, the UK tidal sector is leading the world.

"In a transformational 12 months, we have increased our UK projects portfolio by almost 80% in terms of potential capacity, through the acquisition of Marine Current Turbines from Siemens, and this transaction with SPR."

ScottishPower Renewables chief executive Keith Anderson said: "The MeyGen project has moved the tidal power sector forward in Scotland and Atlantis is now the world's leading developer.

"This agreement will drive momentum in the sector."

In a separate development, Orkney-based Scotrenewables Tidal Power Ltd announced it had secured a further £5.7m from investors to allow it to demonstrate the world's largest tidal turbine.

The company is close to completing the construction of its SR2000 (2MW) system in the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.

The new SR200 is nearing completion in Belfast

The machine is due to be launched early next year before being towed to the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney to commence grid-connected testing.

The latest funding was provided by existing shareholders - including ABB, Total New Energies, Bonheur ASA and Ganger Rolf ASA - as well as new stakeholders DP Energy, Harland and Wolff and Scotmarine.