Three manufacturers will partner in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to supply tidal turbine generation systems for large-scale tidal stream projects.
Maritime renewable energy company Proteus Marine Renewables has signed the deal with Power Conversion, an arm of equipment manufacturer GE Vernova, and SKF Marine, a Swedish manufacturer. The companies will first focus on the supply of a minimum 59MW to MeyGen PLC, to be carried out under a £200 million engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract.
MeyGen’s tidal stream site in Scotland purports to be the largest such facility worldwide. It was awarded a contract for difference (CfD) in the fourth auction round of the scheme.
The agreement will see the companies collaborate on development, delivery, operations and maintenance, with each partner supplying a different scope. SKF will provide rotating equipment for the tidal generation system, comprising the main powertrain, integration and assembly.
Proteus will supply system design, final assembly, installation, commissioning, tidal turbine generation speciality components and other offshore services and delivery, while GE Vernove will handle the electrical systems from generator to grid.
Chief executive officer of Proteus, Drew Blaxland, said: “Together, [the companies] have the capacity to deliver complete power systems using what will be the world’s largest tidal turbines, providing a cost-effective and truly sustainable solution.
Martin Johannsman, managing director of SKF Marine, said the collaboration marks an advance into the industrialisation of tidal energy.
Speaking to the wider goals of the MoU, Peter Oram, sales and commercial director at Power Conversion, added: “By harnessing natural resources like tidal energy and applying GE Vernova’s efficient power conversion technologies, this valuable source of energy can be converted into sustainable, robust power, for the UK and across the globe.”
Tidal stream power in the UK
Last year, a report by Marine Energy Wales revealed that the marine energy sector received a record-breaking £103.4 million in investments and spending in 2022, almost quadruple the previous year’s figure.
In September, HydroWing was the largest tidal stream project awarded in the UK government’s latest Contracts for Difference (CfD) allocation round (AR6). In the previous auction round, tidal energy was awarded 53MW worth in contracts, which is far above this year’s result of 28MW, split across six projects. It was also the only tidal stream project not based in Scotland to win a contract.
Industry group Marine Energy Council (MEC) says it has been instrumental in improving the investment landscape for marine energy in the UK, having secured three successive tidal stream ringfences in the UK’s Contracts for Difference auction rounds and raised the profile of wave energy’s role in the future energy mix.
