Atlantis Resources has unveiled plans to start the construction of the second phase of the MeyGen tidal array project in 2017.
Through its wholly owned project company, Stroma Tidal Power Limited (STPL), Atlantis confirmed its investment decision to proceed with the next development phase of MeyGen in 2017, known as Project Stroma, following a competitive tender process for the project construction contracts.
The next phase of the MeyGen site development will be focused on progressing lower cost of energy for tidal stream, by including larger diameter rotors to capture more energy from the tidal flow, as well as optimized turbine power ratings, Atlantis informed.
Furthermore, Project Stroma will use drilled foundation structures rather than the material intensive gravity foundations used in MeyGen Phase 1A.
Tim Cornelius , CEO of Atlantis, said: “The lessons we have learned from Phase 1A and the confidence it has given to both us and our supply chain allow us to deliver significant improvements and refinements in this next phase. We believe these improvements will yield more electricity for each pound of investment and represent a material step down our cost reduction curve.”
Cornelius added that STPL has been working towards this investment decision in line with the specified program for the NER300 fund, which has last year awarded €16.8 million of grant support to Project Stroma.
The turbines for Project Stroma will be provided by Marine Current Turbines, which was bought by Atlantis from Siemens in 2015 in an all-share deal.