Aquamarine Power has become the first firm to secure bank debt finance for a UK marine energy project.
The wave energy company has agreed a £3.4 million loan with Barclays Corporate to provide funds for the completion of a 2.4 MW Oyster array located at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney. The five-year deal marks an important milestone for the marine energy sector, says Aquamarine.
It comes just a few weeks after RWE announced that it was to pull out of a major wave energy project in the UK in order to concentrate on tidal energy technologies.
“For us this opens the door to securing debt finance for our first pre-commercial 10 MW project which will commence in 2014,” said Aquamarine Power CEO Martin McAdam. “The key for the industry will be finding the means to secure debt for these early-stage projects without the need to rely on parent company support. Barclays is definitely showing the way.”
Aquamarine Power’s Oyster wave power technology generates power by capturing energy from nearshore waves. The array at EMEC will consist of three of the company’s next-generation Oyster devices.
Aquamarine will repay the loan over five years with revenue generated by the 2.4 MW array.
Jan Love, director of Project Finance for Barclays Corporate Scotland, celebrated the deal as “transformational” for the company, adding: “This is a significant moment for Aquamarine Power; it demonstrates our confidence in the business model and provides a blueprint of how visionary companies can achieve their commercial aims with the right support.”
•In July RWE Innogy pulled out of its partnership with Wavegen to build the 4 MW Siadar wave energy project on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland.
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