Siemens acquires Marine Current Turbines

17 February 2012


In November 2011, Siemens increased its stake in the company to 45%, but has now announced it is to acquire the majority stake in the company in the coming weeks for an undisclosed sum.

“The acquisition of Marine Current Turbines is an important step forward for the Solar & Hydro Division,” said Ted Scheidegger, CEO of the Solar & Hydro Division of Siemens Energy. “We will continue to drive the commercialization of this promising technology which harvest energy from highly predictable tidal streams. Our target is to secure a leading position in this future business.”

Global carbon reduction commitments are increasing demand for reliable marine current power. Experts are expecting double-digit annual growth rates for this sector up to 2020. The worldwide potential for power generated by tidal power plants is estimated at 800TWhnm annually. That is approximately 25 percent more than the total power demand of Germany and is equivalent to between three and four percent of global power consumption. Coastal regions with strong tidal currents like those in the UK, Canada, France and East Asia offer major potential for the utilization of this technology.

MCT has already successfully implemented a commercial-scale demonstration project with SeaGen in Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland. Since November 2008, two axial turbines with a combined capacity of 1.2MW have been providing power to approximately 1500 households. Further projects are at the planning stage, including the 8MW Kyle Rhea project in Scotland and the 10MW Anglesey Skerries project in Wales.

“Siemens’ acquisition is hugely welcomed by staff and management at MCT and signals great confidence in MCT’s achievements over many years,” said Andrew Tyler, CEO of MCT.




Privacy Policy
We have updated our privacy policy. In the latest update it explains what cookies are and how we use them on our site. To learn more about cookies and their benefits, please view our privacy policy. Please be aware that parts of this site will not function correctly if you disable cookies. By continuing to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with our privacy policy unless you have disabled them.