MeyGen
Map
CountryScotland
Coordinates58°39′30″N 3°7′30″W / 58.65833°N 3.12500°W / 58.65833; -3.12500
StatusOperational
Construction began2014
Commission date2016
Owner(s)SIMEC Atlantis Energy
Thermal power station
Primary fuel
Tidal power station
Type
Type of TSG
  • Horizontal axis
Power generation
Units operational4
Nameplate capacity6 MW (4 × 1.5 MW)
Annual net output13.8 GWh (2019)
[edit on Wikidata]

MeyGen (full name MeyGen tidal energy project) will be the world's largest tidal energy plant, which is currently in construction.[1] The first phase of the project uses four 1.5 MW turbines with 16 m (52 ft) rotor diameter turbines submerged on the seabed.[2] The project is owned and run by Tidal Power Scotland Limited and Scottish Enterprise.

The high speed of currents in the area, reaching up to 5 m/s (11 mph), made the chosen site in the Pentland Firth well suited to this type of energy generation.[3]

In October 2010, the newly named "MeyGen" tidal project from the nearby Castle of Mey and "Gen" for generation was created by a consortium of Atlantis Resources Limited, Morgan Stanley and received operational lease from the Crown Estate to a 400 MW project for 25 years.[4] Phase 1 (formerly called Phase 1a) began operations in April 2018.[5] In July 2022, MeyGEN plc was awarded a contract for 28MW in the Contract for difference (CfD) Allocation Round 4,[6] which will be used to support the construction of Phase 2 which is now due to be commissioned in 2027. The site has consent for a further 52 MW, to be developed as Phase 3, supported by future CfD Allocation Rounds.[7] Four further contracts totaling 21.94 MW were awarded in the CfD AR5 auction in September 2023.[8] The site has the potential for a further 312 MW to be deployed beyond that, subject to expanding the consent.[7]

In December 2016 it was announced that the first turbine had begun full power operations,[9] and all four turbines were installed by February 2017. Atlantis plans for 400 MW.[10] As of 2018, the four turbines have produced 8 GWh.[11] In 2019, they produced 13.8 GWh.[12] Total production was 51 GWh by March 2023.[13]

The project received £1.5 million Scottish Government grant in 2020.[14]

References

  1. ^ Dickie, Mure (12 September 2016). "Scotland unveils world's largest tidal stream power project". Financial Times. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  2. ^ "World's first large-scale tidal energy farm launches in Scotland". The Guardian. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  3. ^ Connor, Steve (10 July 2013). "Wave goodbye to hope of tidal energy exports, Scots politicians told". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Major Scottish tidal project unveiled". New Civil Engineer. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  5. ^ "Meygen Starts 25 year operations phase".
  6. ^ "Contracts for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round 4: results". GOV.UK. UK Government. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  7. ^ a b "MeyGen". SIMEC ATLANTIS ENERGY. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Contracts for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round 5: results". GOV.UK. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Atlantis' first MeyGen tidal turbine starts operating at full power". Power Technology. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  10. ^ "Atlantis installs fourth and final Meygen Phase 1A turbine". 4c Offshore. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  11. ^ Hill, Joshua S (24 June 2019). "SIMEC Atlantis partners with GE on world's largest tidal stream turbine". RenewEconomy.
  12. ^ Frangoul, Anmar (27 January 2020). "A tidal project in Scottish waters just generated enough electricity to power nearly 4,000 homes". CNBC.
  13. ^ "SAE Deploys Upgraded Turbine at MeyGen Tidal Power Site". Offshore Engineer Magazine. 5 July 2023.
  14. ^ McPhee, David (25 March 2020). "Simec Atlantis Energy wins £1.5m Scot Gov grant for Meygen project". Energy Voice. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
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