MeyGen buys Norwegian tidal turbines

Atlantis Resources will supply three 1.5MW turbines for phase 1A of the project

Tidal power specialist Atlantis Resources has moved a step closer to building its flagship MeyGen project in Scotland following the signing of a turbine supply agreement with Andritz Hydro Hammerfest.

The Norwegian company will supply three 1.5MW turbines for phase 1A of the project. From 2020 MeyGen will comprise dozens of turbines strung out across the Pentland Firth.

Tim Cornelius, chief executive of Atlantis, said: “Andritz has a long history of operating success in the tidal turbine market, from previous incarnations of its HS300 300kW turbine through to its first HS1000 1MW device. It has without a doubt demonstrated that its machinery is not only efficient but it is also robust, operating under very testing circumstances. As a result we are delighted to reach terms with them in respect to putting Andritz turbines on our site.”

Cornelius said that progress had also been made on a second turbine design, the AR1500, which has been developed in-house by Atlantis with its partner Lockheed Martin. He added: “Excellent progress has also been made on the detailed design of our AR1500, with the programme on track for completion in October and the first AR1500 to be installed at MeyGen in the second half of 2015.”

Phase 1A at Pentland Firth will feature a single AR1500 turbine and three HS1500 units from Andritz, with first power set to be delivered by 2016. The four devices will generate up to 6MW in total.

Phase 1 has consent to generate up to 86MW and will see the installation of further AR1500s over the next few years. Once completed, MeyGen should deliver 400MW.