Jun 21 2007
Renewable energy finance specialist, Triodos Bank, has taken a major stake in Marine Current Turbines (MCT), a groundbreaking tidal technology company.
The Bank, who pioneered wind farm finance following the Chernobyl disaster in the 1980s, has invested £1.8 million in MCT. According to Triodos, the money will help finance the world’s first commercial tidal turbine signalling the next ‘big thing’ in renewable energy, and a crucial step in the fight against global climate change.
“With businesses like MCT driving its success, this radical new technology can play a vital role providing the energy we use from renewable sources,” said Triodos Bank’s Head of Investment Banking, James Vaccaro. “We’re investing in a well-rounded, capable company with expertise in an industry with huge potential. We financed some of the first wind power companies when the industry was in its infancy and few people took it seriously. Since then Triodos has financed over 150 wind energy projects, serving a flourishing, commercially successful business. We believe tidal technology and companies like MCT represent a second wave of viable renewable energy enterprise.”
MCT has built on existing investor’s contributions by attracting £7.5 million from a number of new investors, including Triodos Bank. The money will support the SeaGen tidal energy project and future developments in the UK and abroad. Earlier in the month, the company confirmed that its 1.2 MW SeaGen tidal current system - the world’s first commercial tidal turbine system - would be installed in Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough. It will be connected to the local grid and have the capacity to generate enough power for approximately 1000 homes. The initiative will provide the groundwork for more projects in the future.
Martin Wright, Managing Director of MCT, said: “Our new investment partners, together with the support of our existing shareholders, have reaffirmed the commercial potential of tidal power. We’re delighted that experienced renewable energy project financiers, like Triodos, are backing our vision.”
Tidal energy projects have significant advantages as a source of renewable energy. The power they generate is predictable, environmentally-friendly, less affected by bad weather than its wind farm equivalents, and aesthetically less controversial because most of the structure is below the water.
Welcoming the news of the investment, Jonathon Porritt Founder Director of Forum for the Future and Chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission, said: “Business and finance can play an important role finding pragmatic solutions to acute global environmental problems. Indeed, employed in the right way, capitalism and business have the potential to create wealth, equity and ecological integrity. Companies like MCT - backed with finance from investors like Triodos Bank – are blazing a trail for the future.”