Tidal technology company Atlantis Resources Limited has announced its acquisition of the 398MW MeyGen development, Europe's largest tidal power project.
Having already held 10% of the company developing the project, MeyGen Limited, Atlantis has elected to acquire the remaining equity from its joint venture partners Morgan Stanley and GDF SUEZ. Morgan Stanley will remain as Atlantis Resources' largest shareholder.
The announcement comes shortly after the MeyGen project received its offshore planning consents from the Scottish Government, a key milestone in the development timetable which significantly de-risks the project's delivery. Atlantis will now work with the Scottish Government, Department for Energy and Climate Change and The Crown Estate towards commissioning of the first MeyGen turbines in 2015.
"The size, location and tidal resource of MeyGen make it one of the most exciting marine energy projects under development anywhere in the world and Atlantis has been considering increasing the size of its shareholding for some time, subject to the award of consents," commented Tim Cornelius, Chief Executive Officer of Atlantis Resources. "Now that the project has cleared this major regulatory hurdle, it is the logical time for us to do so.
“Having first established the MeyGen project back in 2006, we are very pleased to again have overall control as the lead project developer, as we enter the final straight towards first array deployment. We are hugely excited about the site's potential and look forward to continuing to work with the existing project team on its successful realisation."
At 398MW MeyGen is the largest tidal energy project in Europe. Located in the Inner Sound development zone of Scotland's Pentland Firth, the project was first proposed by Atlantis Resource's project origination team in 2006. The 3.5km2 area site is being developed in multiple stages, with first power expected in late 2015 or early 2016.
