Abundance has raised £7 million for Scottish tidal energy company Orbital Marine Power (Orkney).
Orbital Marine Power (formerly Scotrenewables Tidal Power) will use the funds raised to build its first production model Orbital O2 2MW floating tidal turbine.
Bruce Davis , co-founder and joint managing director, Abundance, said: “2019 promises to be the best year yet for the environmental and social investment sector, and it feels significant that our largest investment to date reached its £7 million target on New Year’s Day. The UK can rightly claim to be a world leader in tidal generation technology and our customers have backed it enthusiastically.”
With this new investment, Orbital Marine Power plans to build its Orbital O2 2MW turbine over the next 12 months, for deployment at Orkney’s European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) during 2020.
The Orbital O2 turbine comprises a 73 meters-long floating superstructure, supporting two 1MW turbines on either side.
Andrew Scott , CEO, Orbital Marine Power, said: “We are delighted with this funding result; it’s a terrific endorsement of our technology and a clear signal that the UK public is hugely supportive of seeing tidal energy brought into the domestic and global energy mixes. The whole team at Orbital Marine are excited to be moving forwards with this flagship project and deliver the first O2 unit for costs similar to offshore wind and so provide the basis for a new and sustainable industry. This a journey we are now honoured to be taking with thousands of new investors, thanks to Abundance.”