Orbital Marine Power secures revenue support for 7.2MW tidal energy projects

Scottish floating tidal energy company Orbital Marine Power has been awarded two contracts for difference (CfDs) in the latest renewable energy auction scheme in the UK.

This is a significant milestone in the company’s growth, with the CfDs underpinning the delivery of multi-turbine projects in Eday in Orkney, according to Orbital Marine.

Capable of delivering 7.2MW of predictable clean energy to the grid once completed, these Orbital Marine’s tidal stream energy projects – with 4.8MW and 2.4MW capacity each – can power to up to 7,200 homes, supporting the UK’s security of supply, energy transition and broader climate change objectives.

The positive outcome also means Orbital Marine can make a transformative investment in its UK supply chain, with around 150 jobs expected to be created through the manufacture and installation phase alone, the company said.

On a jobs per MW installed basis, this would represent an unprecedented level of UK role creation for the construction phase of a renewable energy project, according to Orbital Marine.

Andrew Scott, CEO of Orbital Marine Power, said: “This award is an important validation of our pioneering technology and overall approach to-date. Securing these CfDs is the first step; with successful delivery against the allocation round 4 (AR4) commitments now the true measure of success.

“We will now build on our track record for financing pioneering projects – as evidenced by the O2 – continuing to offer investors the opportunity to scale up a predictable and reliable new source of clean energy. This journey will ultimately also reduce costs and increase jobs across our UK supply chain.

“The UK government’s courageous decision to create a tidal ringfence within the AR4 process was essential in getting us to this point.

“For industry-wide progress to be sustained, it is now vital that a long-term vision is created by Government, along with similar ringfence allowance in future allocation rounds. We already have further shovel-ready capacity, and we are investing in the development of new sites to ensure that Orbital can deliver additional commercial projects across the nations of the UK.”

Orbital Marine is collaborating with TechnipFMC – a leading technology provider in the traditional and new energies industries with a track record of delivering large-scale fully integrated offshore projects, products and service – to accelerate the global commercialization of its tidal stream solution.

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