Scottish Power and Hammerfest Strøm have signed an agreement to further develop Norwegian technology and tidal energy in the UK. Statoil is the main shareholder in Hammerfest Strøm.
The two companies will together form the tidal power company Hammerfest Strøm UK.
The partners will now work on the development of a full-scale tidal energy turbine which will be installed in the UK in 2009. This is an important first step on the road to commercialisation and mass production of tidal power generation technology.
Statoil and Hammerfest Strøm installed a prototype tidal energy turbine in the Kval Sound near Hammerfest, northern Norway, in 2003. The turbine is the first in the world to supply power to the commercial power grid.
In 2003 Hammerfest Strøm installed a prototype tidal power turbine in the Kval Sound near Hammerfest. (Photo: Allan Klo).
"Statoil has played an important role in the technological development of the turbine," says Bjørn Bekken, Statoil's project manager for the Kval Sound turbine.
"We have drawn on long experience and expertise with subsea technology in the oil and gas industry in this work."
"The Kval Sound turbine has delivered good results," says Ann-Elisabeth Serck-Hanssen who heads the new energy unit in the Technology & Projects business area.
"We are delighted that the technology will now be developed further and commercialised in the UK. Tidal energy is one of several exciting future energy sources."