Simec Atlantis Energy (SAE) has secured a Contract for Difference (CfD) for its MeyGen site in Scotland in the latest allocation round from the UK Government, guaranteeing £178.54 (£/MWh) for 15 years.
SAE will work to achieve financial close for this next phase of the project by 2024 with the operation starting in 2027.
“The significance of [the] announcement cannot be downplayed,” commented Graham Reid, CEO of SAE. “We are going to be delivering the world's first commercial scale tidal array and we now have a clear runaway, with future CfD rounds, to deliver the full c400MW of tidal power generation at MeyGen. I can’t thank enough all those who have championed, supported, and invested in our business to achieve this milestone. Our absolute focus will be on the delivery of this project.”
The Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme is the UK government’s main mechanism for supporting low-carbon electricity generation. CfDs incentivise investment in renewable energy by providing developers of projects with high upfront costs and long lifetimes with direct protection from volatile wholesale prices, and they protect consumers from paying increased support costs when electricity prices are high.
