Scotrenewables Tidal Power Limited is pleased to announce that it has agreed terms in respect of a major financing package totalling £8.84m which includes £1.24m in public funding from the Scottish Government as well as £7.6m in private investment from a trio of multi-national backers. The deal will see both of SRTP's long-standing investors, shipping and renewable energy specialists Fred. Olsen and oil major TOTAL, participating in this round along with a new investor partner in ABB Technology Ventures. ABB-TV is the venture capital arm of the Swiss power and automation multinational and its decision to invest will allow SRTP access to ABB expertise in key technical areas which complement the offerings of SRTP's existing investors.

Under the terms of the £7.6m investment deal ABB-TV will contribute £5m while the remaining £2.6m will come from SRTP's existing investors. These funds will be injected in two equal tranches the second of which will be linked to the ongoing technical progression of SRTP's proprietary technology. The £1.24m in funding awarded to SRTP in August 2012 under the Scottish Government WATERS 2 scheme was critical in leveraging the agreed terms for this substantial amount of foreign private investment.

The official announcement on the investment deal was made by Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond during First Minister’s Questions at the Scottish Parliament. First Minister Alex Salmond said:

“Scotrenewables' announcement today of the details of their foreign investment package worth £7.6 million is terrific news and a huge vote of confidence in the Scottish offshore renewables industry.

This deal brings in a substantial amount of private funding from overseas - more than £6 in foreign investment for every £1 of public money. It is another example of how public money can be used to leverage private investment and help support industry to reach ever-more ambitious heights.

I welcome this investment, which is further evidence of Scotland surging ahead in the green energy revolution."

The financing will fund the design, construction, installation and testing of the next generation commercial-scale Scotrenewables Tidal Turbine – rated at 2MW and known as the SR2000. This turbine, which is scheduled for completion in Spring 2014, will incorporate learning from successful grid-connected testing of the 250kW prototype currently ongoing at the EMEC Fall of Warness tidal test site and will be optimised for a fully commercial 20-year design life. The SR2000 will be the first of a number of commercial SRTT units installed in the Lashy Sound tidal demonstrator project in Orkney which was awarded ‘Agreement for Lease’ by the Crown Estate in early November 2012.

Quotes:

Barry Johnston – Founder & Chief Executive Officer: “It is very positive not only that we have agreed terms in respect of a significant new investment from ABB-TV but also that our existing investors will be participating in this investment round. This is a major step on the road to making the company a real clean-energy success story.”

Mark Hamilton – Chief Technical Officer: “This addition of a new ‘technology partner’ to an already enviable investment team will give us the best possible backing as we progress the commercialisation of our innovative tidal technology. ABB involvement will allow us to tackle complex cabling and grid connection challenges thereby speeding the technology development process.”

John McGlynn – Business Development Manager: “The decision of ABB to invest in Scotrenewables Tidal Power Limited is a resounding endorsement of both the SRTT concept and the team that is developing it. The company already enjoys the backing of oil major TOTAL and Fred. Olsen Companies but now will also have access to ABB technical expertise, its highly developed supply chain network and global sales channels.”

Photo:

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond with (from left to right) John McGlynn - SRTP,  Bill McLaughlin - ABB Group,  Barry Johnston - SRTP,  Jeremy Sainsbury - representing existing investors Fred. Olsen and TOTAL & Mark Hamilton - SRTP 

Scotrenewables was this week awarded an 'Agreement for Lease' from the Crown Estate for a commercial tidal energy demonstrator project to be located at Lashy Sound between the islands of Eday and Sanday in Orkney.

The award from the Crown Estate, the body that holds the rights to the UK seabed to the 12-mile territorial limit, now gives SRTP the green light to proceed with further onsite resource assessments and to pursue the necessary consents and grid connection needed to develop the project.  Once consented and grid connected the project, of up to 30MW capacity, will be developed in two distinct phases - an initial 10MW phase to be installed before early 2017 with subsequent build-out to the full 30MW capacity. 

Scotrenewables will seek to fully engage with local stakeholders throughout the project development process and the Company will be attending and exhibiting at the Pentland Firth & Orkney Waters Public Open Day in the Kirkwall Town Hall on 29th November.   Those eager to learn more are encouraged to come to the event and speak with members of the Scotrenewables team.

Also, this week the SR250 prototype, currently undergoing testing at the EMEC Fall of Warness tidal test site, reached and surpassed its rated power output of 250kW.  The prototype reached a peak power export of 273kW, equivalent to almost 110% rated power, while undergoing fully grid-connected tests in strong spring tides on Wednesday of this week. 

Picture: Scotrenewables SR250 prototype generating into the UK national grid at the EMEC Fall of Warness tidal test site.

Scotrenewables Tidal Power Limited has recently hosted high-profile visits from top UK government figures. At the beginning of October, UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Davey, visited Orkney to see some of the county's renewable energy developments .  A key part of his itinerary was a visit to see SRTP's SR250 prototype - Mr Davey is pictured here with Girdon Birtwistle MP along with Barry Johnston and John McGlynn of Scotrenewables and Phillipe Guys, Managing Director of Total E&P UK.  

Following the success of the visit of Mr Davey the UK Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable, visited Orkney to meet local industry representatives and discuss first hand Orkney's marine renewable energy potential. Mr Cable is pictured below with John McGlynn of Scotrenewables, Northern Isles MP Alistair Carmichael, Neil Kermode Managing Director of EMEC as well as a number of other local industry representatives.

Scotrenewables recently hosted a visit from Scottish Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. During the visit the Deputy First Minister announced the successful award of £1.24m in WATERS 2 funding to Scotrenewables – these funds will used to part-support the design and construction of the next generation SRTT rated up to 2MW. The Scottish Government has produced a video to mark the announcement which can be viewed at the link below:

WATERS 2 Announcement