Aquamarine Power Ltd has signed a Development Agreement with Airtricity, the renewable energy development division of Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE.L), aimed at developing sites capable of hosting 1,000 megawatts (MW) of marine energy by 2020.
Under the agreement, the companies will enter into a 50:50 joint venture to develop wave and tidal energy sites in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Work on the development of the first two sites has already started, with plans to roll out further sites over the next three years.
Using its in-house model of tidal and wave power resources around the coasts of UK and Ireland, Aquarmarine said it has identified several gigawatts (GW) of promising sites.
The two companies’ goal is to deliver marine energy sites suitable for deploying Aquamarine’s wave and tidal technologies, including the Oyster® Wave Energy Converter and the Neptune Tidal Device.
Aquamarine is simultaneously pursuing a similar contract for developments in Southern Europe.
Martin McAdam, Chief Executive of Aquamarine, said: “This contract is the biggest deal in the history of marine energy. Fully consented offshore wind farm sites are selling to owner operators at anywhere between £150,000 and £400,000 per MW consented, giving a strong indication of the large potential value of this deal if all 1,000MW of sites receive full consents and grid connection.”
Stephen Wheeler, Airtricity’s Director responsible for marine development added “Following the significant investments made by our parent company, Scottish and Southern Energy, in Aquamarine and their technology, this is the next logical step; to provide a route to market for their promising Oyster® and Neptune technologies. ”
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