Private investment boosts Scotrenewables tidal momentum

Scotrenewables Tidal Power has secured a multi-million pound investment, led by private investor group, in preparation for the construction of the optimized 2MW floating tidal turbine – the SR2-2000.

The SR2000 tidal turbine deployed off Orkney in Scotland (Photo: Scotrenewables Tidal Power)

Led by a private investor group including the McGrath family, sector leader Matthias Haag, as well as ongoing public sector support through the Scottish government’s Energy Investment Fund, the funding will support Scotrenewables tidal energy technology build-out and commercialization.

In addition to fresh funding – whose exact amount was not disclosed – Scotrenewables also informed of new director appointments ahead of starting a new turbine build which will see an optimized 2MW floating turbine installed at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney.

Namely, technology investor Matt Mcgrath has joined the Scotrenewables’ board, chaired by Sian George – another investor from the Mcgrath family – who’s previously held the position of the CEO of Ocean Energy Europe.

Scotrenewables’ board of directors has also welcomed Matthias Haag whose most recent role was Chief Executive Officer of Gemini, one of the largest offshore wind parks in the world.

Commenting on the investment Scotrenewables CEO, Andrew Scott, said: “As we enter a new exciting phase of turbine build and commercialization, the new appointments add significant industry and commercial experience and I’m looking forward to having their support and input.”

Scotland’s Minister for Energy, Paul Wheelhouse, has also welcomed the investment in Scottish engineering company, saying: “I am delighted that Scotrenewables Tidal Power has secured private investment that will support its ongoing development so soon after it announced that its ‘SR2000’ tidal turbine in Orkney – the most powerful turbine deployed in the world – has already generated 3GWh of electricity to the grid in the past 12 months.

“Scotland continues to lead the World in the development and deployment of tidal stream technologies and this latest investment is yet more evidence of the strength of Scotland’s marine energy sector; a sector that has a potentially significant role to play in the energy transition, both at home and in international markets.”

To remind, Scotrenewables SR2-2000 tidal energy turbine is part of the multi-megawatt tidal energy array project, planned for Canada’s Bay of Fundy, that recently received close to C$30 million from the Canadian government.

Under the project, led by DP Energy affiliate company Halagonia Tidal Energy, one SR2-2000 floating unit will be deployed alongside five Mk1 Andritz Hydro 1.5 MW sea-bed mounted tidal turbines across two berths in the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) to from the 9MW tidal energy array.

On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Scotrenewables is in the process of turbine recovery from the EMEC test site. Namely, the company’s record-breaking SR-2000 is being removed to make room for the newer model – the SR2-2000 – that will be tested in the Scottish waters in the following months.