Hammerfest Strom UK has received a £3.9million grant from the Carbon Trust for construction and testing of a one-megawatt (MW) tidalpower device at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney.
The tidal turbine, known as HS1000, is expected to be fully operational in Orkney by 2011.
Hammerfest Strom UK has already completed the design and pre-engineering and is now tendering for fabrication and installation.
After a test period, the company will work with ScottishPower Renewables, which has plans to instal the turbine as part of a 10MW tidalpower array in the Sound of Islay by 2012.
This project would be the largest demonstration tidal-power project in the world and is expected to put ScottishPower Renewables at the forefront of global tidalpower developers.
Hammerfest Strom UK is a subsidiary of Norwegian tidal-power developer Hammerfest Strom.
Hammerfest Strom UK’s managing director Fraser McCreadie said: “The Carbon Trust grant is very welcome in assisting the prototype development of the HS1000 device. The Norwegian parent company has, in addition, engaged KPMG to assist in raising a further £12million for further commercial development of the company.
“We are approaching a broad selection of potential investors including industrial entities, utilities, venture capitalists and private funds.
“We will soon be preparing serial production and seeking long-term supply-chain partnerships.”
The HS1000 device is designed based on a 300kW prototype, which has been installed at Kvalsundet, in Norway, for six years.
Keith Anderson, director of ScottishPower Renewables, said: “We firmly believe that the tidal turbine developed by Hammerfest Strom is the most advanced and rigorously tested device anywhere in the world.
“The grant from the Carbon Trust will enable the first deployment of the turbine in Scottish waters, where we have ambitious plans to further utilise the device at a number of locations to take advantage of the fantastic tidal resources that Scotland has to offer.
“Scotland is blessed with an abundance of renewable-energy potential, and tidal offers perhaps the greatest source of power. The deployment of the HS1000 device is a major milestone in Scotland’s ambitions to tap in to this new source of energy.”
Meanwhile, wave-energy developer Aquamarine Power said it had secured £5.1million of public funding to support the manufacture of its second-generation wavepower device, Oyster 2, which will be manufactured later this year for testing at the European Marine Energy Centre.