Crown Estate awards rights to 200MW wave farm off Orkney
16 Mar 10
The Crown Estate today granted a joint venture partnership
between Aquamarine Power and SSE Renewables exclusive development
rights to an area of the seabed off the coast of Orkney as part of
the world's first commercial leasing programme for marine energy
projects.
Exclusive development rights
Our partnership has been granted an agreement for a lease which
gives us exclusive rights to develop the area for the proposed
installation of the first commercial farm of Oyster wave power
devices.
We will now work closely with The Crown Estate, Orkney Islands
Council and other key stakeholders to obtain necessary consents for
the phased installation of the wave farm and to ensure our project
is developed sensitively and with due consideration to the local
environment and community.
Powering homes with clean energy
The development area has the potential to see Oyster wave power
devices deployed in small clusters spaced over a stretch of
coastline off mainland Orkney running from Costa Head in the north
to Neban Point in the south-west. The proposed wave farm
would have an installed capacity of 200MW and could provide enough
energy to power around 190,000 homes.
The Crown Estate made today's announcement as part of its
Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters leasing round, which opened in
November 2008 and attracted over 40 bids for seabed leases from 20
marine energy developers and utilities.
Working in partnership
The partnership between ourselves and SSE Renewables forms part
of our agreement to develop up to 1GW of Oyster wave farm sites in
the UK and Ireland by 2020 - the largest commercial agreement in
the wave energy sector to date.
Speaking about The Crown Estate's announcement, Martin McAdam,
our Chief Executive Officer said:
"The Crown Estate's leasing round is a significant milestone for
the marine energy sector and is a key step towards the industry's
commercialisation, enabling it to meet its full potential to
deliver clean sustainable power as well as highly skilled long-term
employment.
Harnessing the power of the sea
"Harnessing the power of the sea to produce clean energy will
play a crucial role in our future energy security and in meeting
the UK's climate change objectives. Deploying Oyster on a
commercial scale has the potential to generate millions of pounds
for the Scottish and UK economy and to create hundreds of jobs on a
local and national level.
"Aquamarine Power and SSE Renewables will continue to work in
close consultation with the local community and key stakeholders to
ensure the sustainable and responsible development of our proposed
Oyster project."
Stephen Wheeler, Director of SSE Renewables, said:
"As the leading generator of renewable energy in the UK, SSE is
committed to building on our existing portfolio to develop viable
wave sites using industry-leading marine technologies.
"We believe our partnership with Aquamarine Power will not only
deliver a significant contribution to the renewable energy mix but
also enhance Scotland and the UK's position as world leaders in
marine energy. We look forward to continuing to work closely
with The Crown Estate, statutory bodies and local communities to
develop the site."
Roger Bright CB, Chief Executive of The Crown Estate said:
"I am delighted to announce that Aquamarine Power and SSE
Renewables have been awarded the Brough Head site to develop 200MW
of wave power in Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters, the world's
first commercial wave and tidal leasing round.
Attracting inward investment
"The 1.2GW of installed capacity proposed by the wave and tidal
energy developers for 2020 shows the world that marine energy can
produce meaningful amounts of electricity and offers a real
alternative to conventional power production. The long term
prospects for this growing industry are exceptionally bright, with
vast amounts of untapped energy in the seas all around the UK. It
will create new businesses and jobs as well as attracting inward
investment."