ScottishPower and Norwegian technology company Hammerfest Strøm have set up a new tidal power company Hammerfest UK utilising devices of Hammerfest Strøm. The new company will help Scotland to deploy its considerable tidal power resources for the benefit of the environment, and for the Scottish economy and jobs.
Under the deal, both parties will work together to optimise Hammerfest Strøm's technology including demonstration of a full-scale prototype in Scottish waters, in preparation for deployment of the technology on a wide scale in Scotland and around the globe. Manufacture of the prototype will commence in 2008, with installation during 2009.
The Managing Director of ScottishPower's renewables business, Keith Anderson, said "This is another milestone in our development of renewable marine energy, and follows the announcement of our Orkney wave project which will be the largest in the world. Collaboration between our two countries, Scotland and Norway, will help us to deploy our massive tidal power resources and reduce our emissions of CO2. Most importantly, by investing now and developing the world-leading technology here in Scotland, this project will help us to secure significant jobs and economic benefits in future."
Speaking for Hammerfest Strøm, Jan Ellevset said "We are very excited at the prospect of working with ScottishPower. The Scots are leading the world with deployment of marine renewables, and for us Scotland is the ideal location to prove the technology and move on to large-scale manufacturing."
Media information - Simon McMillan 0141 566 4875 / 07753 622 257
Notes to Editors:
1. Hammerfest’s two largest owners are Statoil, the Norwegian oil and gas company, and Hammerfest Energi, a power utility located in northern Norway. Their tidal technology has been extensively tested at 300kW scale over a three year period, in tidal waters at Hammerfest.
2. The tidal power resource is estimated at some 150 billion kilowatt-hours per annum globally (representing capital investment of around £40bn). The UK share has been estimated at 13 billion kilowatt-hours (Phase II UK Tidal Stream Energy resource Assessment, Black & Veatch, 2005), and over 80% of this is located in Scottish waters.
3. Hammerfest Strøm's technology is a form of "tidal stream" power which can be distinguished from "tidal barrage" power as there is no need to impound the water. This is expected to bring significant environmental advantages by avoiding impacts on sensitive inter-tidal zones around the coast.
4. Hammerfest Strøm's technology is best described as an underwater wind turbine, but with much shorter blades, and turning more slowly. The units are mounted on the sea bed and aligned to the tidal flow. Each device will generate around 1MW of output, and in future arrays of multiple devices are anticipated which could generate 50MW to 100MW each.
5. The Scottish Executive have taken a leading approach to stimulating the marine renewables market through support grants and a longer-term revenue support scheme. The Executive recently stated that "Scotland has the potential to generate a quarter of Europe's marine energy and kick-starting the sector is vital if we are to create a significant industry based in Scotland and meet our long-term renewables targets." It is considered that thousands of jobs could be created in this sector as the technology is exported around the world, with an estimated market size of some £40bn. (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2007/02/20091751)