Atlantis Resources has kicked off grid connection cable burial works for the tidal energy project, MeyGen.
The company has already completed Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) of bore holes from the foreshore into the inner sound and down to the seabed, with subsea exits on all four bore holes. Each hole is 550 meters in length and will house power cables which will connect the subsea turbines to the onshore Power Conversion Centre.
Works on the onshore facilities have also taken a step forward with construction on the Power Conversion Centre starting this week. The Power Conversion Centre will take the power generated by the subsea turbines and feed it into the electricity grid.
Meanwhile, grid connection cable burial works along the 12 mile route from Hastigrow have also commenced.
Dan Pearson, CEO of MeyGen , said: “The MeyGen project represents the best of what Scotland has to offer when it comes to the energy infrastructure development: an integrated supply chain, state of the art manufacturing facilities, and world class engineering skills. We are truly honoured to host the Minister and thank him for his continued support on this pioneering project.”
The MeyGen project is the world’s largest planned tidal development at 398 megawatts of total installed capacity when fully constructed. Situated in the Pentland Firth, the MeyGen array will consist of 269 submerged tidal turbines, enough to power 175,000 Scottish homes. In Phase 1A of the project, four submerged turbines generating 6 MW will be installed in the Inner Pentland Firth just north of Caithness, with first power expected to be delivered in 2016.