Atlantis Resources – a global leader in the tidal power sector – has passed a major technical milestone for its flagship MeyGen project in northern Scotland.
The MeyGen project is now connected to the 33kV Ness of Quoys distribution network in Caithness following the successful installation of one of the longest underground 33kV power export cables in the UK by the network operator, Scottish Hydro Electric.
The connection required more than 15 miles of distribution network upgrades, along with infrastructure upgrades at two substations.
When fully built out, the 400MW project is expected to generate enough despatchable power to 175,000 Scottish homes. The first tidal turbines will be installed over the coming months and the project remains on track to deliver first power later this year.
Tim Cornelius, Chief Executive, Atlantis Resources, commented: “This achievement is a major milestone for Atlantis and the tidal stream industry.
“It has involved years of hard work, persistence, perseverance and determination by our team and all of the contractors and consultants involved in the onshore work scope.
“We believe this is now the world’s largest energised grid connection of any commercial tidal stream array.
“We have made great progress over recent months at MeyGen on turbine and foundation preparation and we very much look forward to delivering first power to the grid later this year, which will be a huge event for both our company and the global marine power industry.”
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