Plans To Enhance Meygen Project Returns And Deliver 40% Increase In Yield Through The Installation Of At Least Two New Atlantis Turbines

31st October 2018

SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited, the global developer, owner and operator of sustainable energy projects with a diversified portfolio of more than 1,000 megawatts in various stages of development is pleased to provide an update on its future plans for the MeyGen project.

The Company now has advanced plans to enhance the existing 6MW MeyGen array through the addition of at least two of the Company's new tidal turbines. When installed, these new Atlantis turbines, which are capable of generating up to 2.0MW using more powerful generators and larger rotor diameters, will use a new subsea connection hub and share a single export cable. These innovations will significantly reduce project infrastructure costs by removing the requirement for a dedicated export cable per turbine and should also result in reduced vessel installation costs. The use of larger rotor diameters is in-step with a key cost reduction trend seen in the offshore wind industry.

Atlantis is progressing all requisite technical and environmental studies, targeting first power generation through the new subsea connection hub in late 2019, subject to consents and funding. The proposed works, known as Project Stroma, will benefit from a €16.8 million revenue support package under the European Commission's NER300 programme. The Company expects the yield from the enhanced array to increase by approximately 40% relative to the current configuration of four turbines.

Atlantis is committed to building capacity in the local areas where it operates. Crucially, the MeyGen extension will make extensive use of the Scottish supply chain.

Tim Cornelius, CEO of Atlantis, said:"Project Stroma will be an important enabler for the subsequent extension of the MeyGen site by a further 80MW, and ultimately to the full site capacity of 400MW. Nearby sites in the Pentland Firth offer significant further growth potential as part of the UK's total potential of 8,500MW. Worldwide, tidal stream represents a 99,000MW development opportunity for clean, secure and predictable energy at a cost competitive with other forms of green energy.

Larger rotor diameter turbines and subsea connection hubs will open up new markets for Atlantis in places like France, South Korea, Japan and the Channel Islands. Subsea connection will eliminate the need for offshore transformer platforms which is particularly important in locations such as Alderney where preservation of natural beauty will be a key factor in decision making in relation to any future award of development rights."

At 6MW rated capacity, MeyGen is already the world’s largest tidal stream array and has 392MW of further development capacity under its seabed lease. The current project formally completed its construction and commissioning phase in March 2018 and is operating in the warranty period. MeyGen has generated over 8GWh of energy to the grid to date. The array also exported a world record 1.4GWh of electricity to the grid in a single month this year, which would have satisfied the electrical requirements of 5,420 average UK homes during that month.