Scotland’s Tidal Titans team up to turbo charge the tidal energy industry

This collaboration will see the world’s leading tidal energy developers, Nova Innovation (Nova) and Atlantis Energy (Atlantis), work together to deliver their complementary technologies for the tidal industry, Scotland and the UK. Collectively, Atlantis and Nova operate the world’s first offshore tidal array (installed by Nova in Shetland in 2016) and the world’s largest tidal array (6MW Meygen array installed by Atlantis in the Pentland Firth). Between the companies, they have delivered over half of the tidal stream devices operational worldwide and are developing sites in the UK, Canada, Japan and France. Both companies deploy subsea turbines which generate predictable, renewable power with no visual impact.

Meygen is the largest consented tidal stream site in the world with a potential capacity of nearly 400MW. The MeyGen site has all the necessary consents to deploy a further 80MW of tidal power and all that is needed to unlock this potential is a route to market. Nova and Atlantis look forward to working with all stakeholders to help unlock this exciting opportunity and see further Scottish-made turbines deployed at the world-leading site.

Nova and Atlantis hosted the Leader of the SNP in Westminster, Ian Blackford MP, and his colleagues, Steven Flynn MP, Alan Brown MP, and Deirdre Brock MP, at Nova’s headquarters and manufacturing facility in Leith, Scotland. During the visit the MPs were shown the control room for Nova’s operational tidal array in Shetland, and their current manufacturing line.  Over the next 12 months, Nova’s turbines will be installed in North America and mainland Europe.

The MPs were also briefed by Nova and Atlantis on how the collaboration will deliver jobs and investment if the tidal energy sector receives that all important route to market from Westminster. This is an industry that, according to an independent report released this month by the Royal Society, can deliver over 11GW of predictable, renewable power in the UK creating thousands of jobs across the country. However, it needs the right support from Westminster to enable the next phase of deployment that will see the industry delivering scale while driving down costs.

SNP Westminster Leader Ian Blackford MP said: “Tidal stream energy has the potential to be a major Scottish success story, and a key part of Scotland’s renewable energy revolution.

“The collaboration between these two world-leading tidal companies will allow them to build on their successes and deliver more turbines into the water.

“The UK government must now match this ambition and deliver the dedicated ring-fenced funding required to secure the future of this vital green industry.”

Simon Forrest CEO of Nova Innovation said: “We were delighted to welcome Ian and his Westminster team to discuss the huge opportunity that the tidal industry presents to Scotland and the UK. At Nova, we are doing all we can do deliver this, and our collaboration with Atlantis to develop the MeyGen site is a key milestone for us and the industry. In working together to develop the MeyGen site, we are cementing Scotland’s place as the world leader for tidal energy.”

Graham Reid, CEO of Atlantis Energy, added: “Collaboration is a core value at Atlantis Energy and our work with our partners has been key to delivering so many of the milestones for our company. I am delighted to be working with Simon and the Nova team to deliver on our clear commitment of deploying Scottish-built turbines from both Atlantis and Nova at the MeyGen site.”