Advance Tidal Turbines Order

17th August 2010

ScottishPower Renewables Welcomes Hammerfest Strøm's Commitment to the Scottish Renewable Energy Sector

ScottishPower Renewables' Managing Director Keith Anderson joined First Minister Alex Salmond in Oslo today (Tuesday 17th August 2010) as the Norwegian tidal-power developer Hammerfest Strøm announced major contracts worth £4m to construct the first of their advanced HS1000 tidal turbines in Scotland.

Fife-based Burntisland Fabrication Limited (BiFab) has been awarded the largest single contract for the fabrication of the sub-structure for the turbine, which will be installed at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney next year.

ScottishPower Renewables (SPR), a major shareholder in Hammerfest Strøm for the last 5 years, has already submitted a planning application to install ten HS1000 machines at a tidal-power array in the Sound of Islay on the west coast of Scotland. Beyond this, SPR is developing a 95 turbine project at Ness of Duncansbay in the Pentland Firth as part of The Crown Estate's first marine energy leasing round. The company also confirmed that it will be entering the Ness of Duncansbay project into the Scottish Government's £10 million Saltire Prize for marine energy innovation.

Welcoming Hammerfest's announcement, Keith Anderson said: "ScottishPower Renewables is committed to leading the development of new renewable energy technologies in the UK, and we already have major projects planned utilising wave and tidal power. Following the deployment of the initial HS1000 machine in Orkney, SPR is planning to install ten of the machines in the Sound of Islay, which will be the first tidal power array of its kind in the world. Following on from this, we are also planning to install up to 95 tidal turbines in the Pentland Firth.

"We are delighted that Hammerfest Strøm has announced that it will be constructing the first HS1000 turbine in Scotland. We know that the company looked internationally to find the right levels of expertise to deliver this contract, so it is a major boost to Scotland's renewable energy industry and to the wider economy to see this new technology going in to construction in Stornoway. With our projects in Islay and the Pentland Firth also being developed, we hope that the announcement today is just the beginning of what could be a major stream of new opportunities for the renewables and manufacturing industries in Scotland."

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond, said: "I am delighted that Scottish businesses will benefit from the next stage of the development of one of the world's most advanced tidal turbines.

"With unrivalled energy resources off our coast and a range of wave, tidal and offshore wind development already underway, Scotland leads the way in generating power offshore.

"We have an estimated 25 percent of Europe's offshore wind and tidal resource and 10 percent of its wave potential, a renewable energy resource which is unrivalled in Europe.

"Awarding £4 million of contracts to Scotland is a massive vote of confidence in the talent, expertise and infrastructure we have to support the development of a clean, green renewables future.

"This is another example of how the European Marine Energy Centre, our wave and tidal technical test centre in Orkney, is continuing to pay dividends through further overseas investment in Scotland.

"ScottishPower Renewables continues to lead the way in the development of offshore energy generation. The company's entry to the £10 million Saltire Prize demonstrates that one of the largest innovation prizes of its kind continues to generate global interest in the marine energy potential around our coast."

Fraser McCreadie, Managing Director of Hammerfest Strøm UK, said "We sought bids on an international basis for the substructure fabrication works and are delighted that Burntisland Fabrication Ltd submitted the best value for money offer. We look forward to working closely with BiFab as a key industrial partner to deliver a successful demonstrator Project and to the future in supporting our further commercial tidal array projects."

John Robertson, Bifab's Managing Director commented: "We are delighted to be selected by Hammerfest Strom UK Ltd for the manufacture of the substructure for the new 1 MW tidal device. We are very impressed with the proactive approach of their management and engineering team. This is a very exciting product with great potential and we are pleased that the next phase of development will be manufactured here in Scotland at the BiFab Arnish facility Stornoway."