Atlantis Resources celebrates MeyGen construction progress

Atlantis Resources, the developer behind the MeyGen tidal energy project, has celebrated the progress made on the construction of the project located at Caithness, Scotland.

In particular, the celebration marks the completion of Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) of four bore holes, 550 m long each, from the foreshore into the inner sound and down to the seabed with subsea exits on all four bore holes.

Furthermore, the construction of the Power Conversion Centre that will feed the electricity produced from the subsea turbines to the grid has started this week.

According to Atlantis, the Power Conversion centre is designed to withstand and protect the critical electrical equipment against the extreme elements of the Pentland Firth, while at the same time incorporating water, waste, and cooling solutions, in order to minimise the environmental impact.

The grid connection cable burial works along the approximately 19 km long route from Hastigrow have also commenced, Atlantis’ press release reads.

Dan Pearson, CEO of MeyGen, said: “The MeyGen project represents the best of what Scotland has to offer when it comes to the energy infrastructure development: an integrated supply chain, state of the art manufacturing facilities, and world class engineering skills.”

ABB, a Swiss-based power and automation technology group, is the principal contractor for all onshore construction of the MeyGen project. It has been working closely with local businesses John Gunn & Sons, HRI architects and Leask Marine to fully utilise the Scottish supply chain and boost the local economy, Atlantis’ press release reads.

Ian Funnell, Managing Director of ABB UK, said: “ABB is proud to contribute to the MeyGen project and to help develop Scotland’s leadership in tidal energy. Not only are we are coordinating from our Scottish engineering office in East Kilbride but we have also appointed local contractors wherever possible to support the Scottish supply chain.”

The project has been supported by Scottish Government’s Renewable Energy Investment Fund (REIF), which is administered by Scottish Enterprise.

Head of REIF, Andrew Smith, said: “MeyGen’s development is a key project for Scotland’s renewable sector, offering extensive opportunities to Scottish supply chain. We’re delighted to mark the progress being made at the site, which embodies Scotland’s growing reputation as a leading global centre of excellence for development, deployment and commercialisation of tidal energy.”

Scottish Energy Minister was supposed to be present at the ceremony, but ‘due to unforseen circumstances, the Minister was unable to travel to the MeyGen site today’, according to Atlantis.

When fully constructed the MeyGen tidal array will consist of 269 submerged tidal turbines, with 398 MW capacity, enough to power 175.000 Scottish homes.

In Phase 1A of the project, four submerged turbines generating 6 MW will be installed off Caithness, with the first power expected to be delivered in 2016.

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Image: Atlantis Resources