Three articles which highlight the different ways the offshore marine renewable energy industry is gaining support and finance.

IKEA snaps up 25 per cent stake in German offshore wind farm … companies buying energy … a new source of funding … Ingka Group, the largest IKEA franchisee with 367 IKEA stores in 30 markets, has acquired a 25% stake in the 402MW Veja Mate offshore wind farm in the German North Sea. Ingka Group is part of a consortium which recently bought an 80% stake in Veja Mate Offshore Project GmbH, the owner and operator of the wind farm.

Scottish Government revives £10m tidal energy fund

Original Saltire Prize ran from 2008 to 2017, but no one claimed the £10m prize fund

The Scottish Government yesterday re-launched a £10m prize fund to boost commercial prospects for tidal energy in Scotland, as recent advances in tidal technologies have sparked renewed investor interest in the sector. The original Saltire Prize for wave and tidal technologies ran from 2008 to 2017, but no one claimed the £10m prize fund.    Now the prize has been narrowed to focus solely on tidal technologies, and renamed the Saltire Tidal Energy Challenge Fund.  It seeks to find and fund projects working to cut the cost of tidal energy, and which demonstrate a “positive social and economic impact on Scotland, including collaboration across the supply chain”, the Scottish Government said. Projects which are successful in gaining funding must be deployed in Scottish waters no later than March 2020, it added. Hopes are high that this time around the funding could be snapped up, as several firms are already working in Scotland to develop tidal energy projects. Nova Innovation is currently working on a €20m project to extend its Bluemull Sound array to six turbines.  Meanwhile, SIMEC Atlantis runs the MeyGen project – the world’s largest tidal energy plant – and is now also planning install a 2MW undersea turbine. The GFG Alliance, owned by the billionaire Gupta family, took a 50 per cent stake in Atlantis in 2017 with a plan to transform the tidal power firm into a “global green power enterprise”.   Scotland’s energy minister, Paul Wheelhouse, said Scotland “continues to lead the world in developing and supporting marine energy technology”. 

Orbital tidal power Green crowd-funding platform Abundance has this week celebrated its largest fund-raise to date, closing a record £7m investment round for Orbital Marine Power.

Peer-to-peer ethical investment company Abundance has closed its largest fundraising to date with £7 million for Scottish tidal energy company Orbital Marine Power, based in Orkney. The project has secured a number of supporting grants as well as equity funding, including from the Scottish Government. The Abundance offer of 2.5-year debentures with an annual return of 12% attracted 2,278 individual investors, with over half investing via an Innovative Finance ISA for a tax-free return. The average investment was approximately £3,000, with the project attracting particularly strong interest from investors in Scotland who put in 50% more on average, at £4,500.

Bruce Davis, co-founder and joint managing director of Abundance, said: “It feels significant that our largest investment to date reached its £7 million target on New Year’s Day. The UK can rightly claim to be a world leader in tidal generation technology and our customers have backed it enthusiastically.”

With this new investment, Orbital Marine Power plans to build its Orbital O2 2MW turbine over the next 12 months, for deployment at Orkney’s European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) during 2020.

The Orbital O2 turbine comprises a 73m-long floating superstructure, supporting two 1MW turbines on either side.  The new turbine will draw upon the success of Orbital’s SR2000 turbine which was launched in 2016 and produced in excess of 3GWh of electricity over its initial 12 month test programme at EMEC. Orbital’s floating turbine simplifies installation and maintenance as risky underwater operations can be avoided, keeping costs and downtime low, while floating systems can be deployed over a wide range of tidal sites in UK and global waters.

Andrew Scott, CEO, Orbital Marine Power, said: “It’s a terrific endorsement of our technology and a clear signal that the UK public is hugely supportive of seeing tidal energy brought into the domestic and global energy mixes. The whole team at Orbital Marine are excited to be moving forwards with this flagship project and deliver the first O2 unit for costs similar to offshore wind and so provide the basis for a new and sustainable industry.”

Bruce Davis added: “From those who invest the minimum of just £5 to larger investors with tens of thousands to put to work in the green and social economy, each and every one of our customers is playing a part in building a better world while helping achieve their own life goals. We’ve got an exciting pipeline of new investments in a wide range of projects and technologies coming up this year. Expect to see more larger offers like this one as issuers take advantage of the change in EU rules on crowdfunding prospectus limits.”  Click here to read more