Orbital Marine Power partners with Global Energy Group for Orkney tidal projects

Scotland-based renewable energy company Orbital Marine Power has picked Global Energy Group as a supplier to lead the manufacture and assembly of turbines for the company’s Orkney projects which have won contracts under the UK Government’s Contract for Difference (CfD) auction rounds 4 and 5.

Turbine manufacture is set to commence at Global Energy Group’s Port of Nigg facility on the Cromarty Firth later this year. The first power from the Orkney-connected projects is expected to be generated in 2026.

“We are delighted to have been selected by the Orbital team as their preferred supplier for the manufacture and assembly of their innovative floating tidal technology. This is a real vote of confidence in our people and the integrated capability at the Port of Nigg,” said Iain Sinclair, Executive Director at Global Energy Group.

“Importantly, it further demonstrates our commitment towards delivering a high quality, cost competitive, localised value proposition, for the multi-technology approach required for the successful decarbonisation of the UK’s energy sector.”

These projects will expand on the achievements of Orbital’s O2, described as ‘the world’s most powerful tidal turbine’, with a capacity of 2 MW. 

Situated off the Orkney coast, it commenced operations in 2021, offsetting approximately 2,000 tonnes of CO2 annually and supplying power to 1,700 homes in the UK.

Orbital aims to utilize a primarily UK-based supply chain for manufacturing and installing its tidal projects. With the delivery of its CfD projects, Orbital anticipates showcasing a level of job creation in the UK per megawatt basis.

“Orbital is committed to ensuring tidal stream energy can make a complementary and material contribution to the UK’s decarbonising ambitions while also supporting a just transition by creating a new industrial sector led from the UK and our home in Scotland. The selection of Global Energy Group is a significant step towards that vision,” said Andrew Scott, CEO of Orbital Marine Power.

That the waters around Orkney have significantly wider tidal stream energy potential shows the fact that In March 2023, Orbital Marine Power secured an Option Agreement from Crown Estate Scotland for a new tidal energy project in the Westray Firth.