Aquamarine gets expansion green light

AQUAMARINE Power, the Edinburgh-based renewables company, yesterday got the go-ahead to expand its wave energy site at Orkney, which could potentially supply electricity to power more than 1,000 homes.

The Scottish Government has given consent to add two more demonstrator devices to an existing one in operation at the European Marine Energy Centre, where wave energy devices are tested.

The installation will become the first “near-shore” wave array in Scotland to be connected to the National Grid.

Energy minister Fergus Ewing said: “Scotland is in the midst of a renewables revolution, and it is innovation and creativity such as that behind the Oyster device which will help us meet our ambitious renewable electricity targets and help us reindustrialise Scotland.”