Construction of onshore facilities starts today at MeyGen site

Contractors will begin the construction of a 340meter access road at the MeyGen tidal stream project today, announces Atlantis, majority owner of the project. The announcement marks the start of all onshore construction at the site, a preparatory stage which will pave the way for the 398 megawatt (MW) tidal array to be built offshore.

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, is the principal contractor for all onshore construction of the MeyGen project and has appointed local Caithness family business John Gunn & Sons Ltd to construct the access road.

Onsite welfare facilities will be installed as well as the road, which will allow for the Horizontal Directional Drilling to commence close to the foreshore as well as prepare the ground for the Power Conversion Unit Building foundations (PCUB).

The road is expected to take three months to build, with all onshore construction expected to be completed over the next 12 months.

“Creating access to the site is literally and figuratively the first step on a long but exciting journey,” says MeyGen CEO Dan Pearson. “It’s wonderful to be working with power experts ABB who share our passion for tidal energy, and with John Gunn & Sons who share our commitment to the local community. Together, we have a lot of work to do and we can’t wait to get started.”

“ABB is delighted to be providing the grid connection for this ground-breaking tidal energy project” says Stephen Trotter, Local Division Manager Power Systems, “It pulls together the capabilities of ABB teams and factories across Europe in power conversion and grid connection and has particular synergy with the skills and knowhow we have established in other renewable energy sectors such as wind and solar.”

The MeyGen project is the largest planned tidal development project in the world at 398 megawatts of total installed capacity when fully constructed. Situated in the Pentland Firth, the MeyGen array will consist of 269 submerged tidal turbines, enough to power 175,000 Scottish homes. In Phase 1A of the project, four submerged turbines generating 6 MW will be installed in the Inner Pentland Firth just north of Caithness, with first power expected to be delivered in 2016.

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For more information regarding Atlantis and/or the MeyGen project, please contact Stephanie Blott or Caroline Cutler on +44 (0)203 727 1898 or email atlantis@fticonsulting.com
For more information regarding ABB, please contact: Karen Strong on 01785 825050 or email Karen.strong@gb.abb.com

About Atlantis Resources

Atlantis Resources Limited is a vertically integrated turbine supplier and project developer in the tidal power industry. The Atlantis group holds equity positions in a diverse portfolio of tidal stream development projects, which includes a stake of more than 86% in MeyGen Limited, the company developing the MeyGen project in Scotland.

The MeyGen project is the largest consented tidal stream power project in Europe, and is scheduled to commence generation in 2016.

Alongside its project development interests, Atlantis owns a portfolio of patents and patent applications relating to tidal power generation and sells tidal generation equipment and engineering services to third party developers as well as its own projects. The Atlantis group, which is revenue generating, also conducts industrial research and development, and provides specialist consulting services globally.

Atlantis Resources was admitted to AIM on 20 February 2014.

(www.atlantisresourcesltd.com)

About the MeyGen Project

The MeyGen project is the largest planned tidal development project in the world at 398 megawatts of total installed capacity when fully constructed. Situated in the Pentland Firth, Scotland, the MeyGen array will consist of 269 submerged tidal turbines, enough to power 175,000 Scottish homes.

The construction of the MeyGen tidal array will take place in three stages including:

• Phase 1A: the first 6MW (4 turbines): Enough to power approximately Scottish 3000 homes
• Phase 1: the first 86MW (61 turbines in total): Enough to power approximately 42,000 Scottish homes
• The complete 398 MW (269 turbines): Enough to power approximately 175,000 Scottish homes

In September 2014, Atlantis announced a £51.3 million project finance package for MeyGen, including a mixture of debt, equity and grants from the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change, Scottish Enterprise, The Crown Estate and Highlands and Islands Enterprise for the construction of Phase 1A of the MeyGen project. The Atlantis group retains a holding of more than 86 per cent in MeyGen, and Scottish Enterprise’s holding, as a new shareholder, is 13.5 per cent.

About ABB

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 145,000 people.