Making ‘Waves’ with Tidal Energy Success

We are delighted to see the ongoing success in the construction and development of the world’s largest tidal stream project, MeyGen. Waves Group has been providing key risk mitigation services as the project Marine Warranty Surveyor (MWS) since its inception and we are excited to be part of a unique project that has already started generating clean energy to the power grid in Scotland.

The MeyGen project is currently the only commercial multi-turbine array tidal stream project to be constructed. Located on a 3.5km long stretch in the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth, between the island Stroma and mainland Scotland, the project has a generating capacity of 398MW – enough clean energy to power 175,000 households in Scotland.

The turbines are situated in a natural channel, 2km away from Scotland’s Northeast tip between the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, which experiences some of the fastest flowing waters in the UK, with currents up to 10 knots. The unique design of the subsea turbines enables power to be generated on both the flood and ebb tides.

The project is owned by SIMEC Atlantis Energy, majority owner of Tidal Power Scotland Limited (TPSL).

The success of the MeyGen project demonstrates that tidal energy can be harnessed. The strong currents that make tidal energy attractive for the production of clean, renewable energy, present considerable challenges during the installation and construction phases. We are very pleased to have been able to contribute to the safe construction of the MeyGen facility by applying our extensive marine operations experience to mitigate and manage the risks during the installation of the turbines and related infrastructure, including the array and export cables.

The MeyGen project will contribute significantly to the UK Government’s climate change targets and successfully demonstrates that tidal energy can be viable when properly planned, engineered and managed. Tidal energy has the potential to contribute significantly to the supply of renewable energy globally in the future.

Waves Group has extensive experience of a wide range of offshore renewable projects which includes the planning and constructing of numerous offshore wind farms, as well as other wave and tidal energy projects. The successful delivery of such a unique project further enhances our expertise within the offshore renewables sector.

To learn more about our renewable energy capabilities please contact mail@waves-group.co.uk.