Scottish engineering firm Orbital Marine Power said Monday it secured funding to finance the ongoing operation of its O2 tidal turbine, in another step forward for the burgeoning tidal power sector.
The Scottish National Investment Bank was established by the Scottish government in November 2020. Abundance Investment has more than one thousand individual investors.
Orbital said that the long-term sale of electricity from the turbine would be used to service the debt facilities.
Orbital Marine Power says that the O2 has a 74-meter hull structure. The O2 is described as the world's most powerful tidal turbine.
The mission of the SNIB is to support home-grown innovation and the just energy transition.
The company has an important role to play in the journey to net zero.
Scotland has a long association with North Sea oil and gas production, but in the last few years it has become a hub for companies and projects focused on tidal power and marine energy.
The European Marine Energy Center is located in the archipelago of Orkney. Waves and tidal energy developers can test and assess their technology at EMEC. There is a turbine at the site.
TechnipFMC invested in Orbital Marine Power last year.
Installation of tidal and wave energy capacity jumped in Europe in 2021, as the ocean energy sector saw deployment return to pre-pandemic levels.
Ocean Energy Europe said in March that 2.2 megawatts of tidal stream capacity was installed in Europe last year. There was a threefold increase in wave energy installations in Europe in 2020.
In the year 2021, 1.38 million watt of wave energy came online, while 3.12 million watt of tidal stream capacity was added.
The size of tidal stream and wave projects is very small compared with other renewable sources.
Wind power capacity was installed in Europe in just one year.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
