Machine translation from English source
Orbital Marine Power (Orbital) has awarded the main manufacturing contract for its first commercial O2 tidal stream turbine to Scottish company TEXO Group, which will carry out the work at its quayside facilities in Dundee.
The multi-million pound contract marks the start of major construction of O2's new tidal stream turbine, which builds on the 2MW SR2000 turbine which produced more than 3GWh in its first year of testing at the European Marine Energy Center (EMEC) in Orkney, Scotland.
Capable of generating more than 2MW from tidal stream resources, O2 will be the most powerful tidal turbine in the world when it comes into operation in 2020 as part of a long-term project at EMEC.(Electro-mechanical work)
Andrew Scott, CEO of Orbital, said: “This is a flagship engineering project for the emerging tidal sector and we are delighted to be working with TEXO Group to demonstrate the very capable supply chain we are fortunate to have around us in Scotland and the wider UK. The results we have achieved with the SR2000 over the past two years are a strong validation of our low-cost approach to generating clean, predictable energy from tidal energy. The Orbital team is delighted to build on this success with O2, which we are confident will further reduce costs and strengthen our position at the forefront of this exciting new renewable sector.”
TEXO Group
Robert Dalziel, Managing Director of TEXO Group, said: “We are honored and humbled to have been awarded this prestigious contract. O2 is a groundbreaking project that will transform the future of tidal energy on a global scale and showcase the very best of Scottish engineering. Our team has a wealth of experience in offshore engineering with particular expertise in offshore oil and gas - this project allows us to demonstrate our extensive capabilities for the offshore renewable energy sector (electro-mechanical jobs)
The O2 project has been funded in a number of ways, including EU Horizon 2020 funding and a £7 million crowdfunding bond which was raised earlier in the year, one of the largest peer-to-peer debt commitments in UK history. The project also benefits from previously proposed market support for the sector through the Renewable Energy Obligation.
Orbital's Andrew Scott added: “We are truly delighted to have received such strong support from the wider UK public for our tidal energy vision, which brings together both industrial and low-carbon opportunities. And we hope the UK Government will work constructively with us to create a wider future market opportunity to harness our fantastic tidal energy resources, in turn creating a whole new domestic low carbon generation industry with sustainable export opportunities.”
John Alexander, Leader of Dundee City Council, said: “This announcement is a huge boost for the city, both in terms of economic benefit and confidence in our facilities and workforce. Following significant investment from a number of companies already this year, this is yet another example of the hard work that has gone into bringing renewable energy to jobs and investment in Dundee. We have a strong track record in this hugely important sector and are strategically well positioned to provide the coastal infrastructure, world-leading supply chain and skills needed to deliver high quality, sustainable jobs in the city that pay a living wage and offer future opportunities for our youth, but not at the expense of the environment (work as an electrician).
David Webster, Senior Port Manager at the Port of Dundee, added: “This project demonstrates the Port of Dundee's ability to handle large renewable energy projects and the flexibility to work with our partners here at the port to make initiatives like O2 a reality. We are thrilled to be working alongside TEXO Group on this project and we look forward to seeing O2 take shape here at the Port of Dundee.”
