Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) — Atlantis Resources Ltd. says it has
satisfied all the terms of a 51 million-pound ($83 million)
funding package that enables it to start building the world’s
largest tidal-stream power plant in Scotland.
The U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change and the
Highlands and Islands Enterprise are providing 13.3 million
pounds in grants, the Morgan Stanley-backed tidal turbine maker
said today in an e-mailed statement. Scottish Enterprise is
providing 7.5 million pounds in project finance debt and the
Crown Estate is providing 10 million pounds.
Atlantis itself is investing 10.8 million pounds of equity
and Scottish Enterprise an additional 9.7 million pounds in
equity to give it a 13.5 percent stake in the MeyGen project,
according to the statement. Singapore-based Atlantis will own
the remaining 86.5 percent, it said.
The money is being used to finance the installation of four
1.5-megawatt turbines in the Pentland Firth in Scotland, which
votes in an independence referendum today, with construction
expected to start in the next quarter. It forms part of the
first 86-megawatt phase of the MeyGen project that eventually
may reach a capacity of as much as 398 megawatts. It’s expected
to deliver its first power to the grid by 2016.
A 10-year power purchase agreement has been reached with
SmartestEnergy Ltd. that will guarantee revenue for the project
through the electricity it supplies to the grid and through
government subsidies for clean power, according to the
statement.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Louise Downing in London at
ldowning4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at
landberg@bloomberg.net
Alex Devine, Randall Hackley