SIMEC Atlantis Energy Plans 'Europe's Largest Tidal Project'

The developer of tidal energy projects SIMEC Atlantis Energy announced the formation of a joint venture company with Development Agency for Normandy (AD Normandy) for the purpose of developing a large-scale project in Raz Blanchard, Normandie.

The joint venture company, Normandie Hydrolienne, will establish an operational presence in Normandy and Atlantis will hold a majority stake, said a press release. AD Normandy is the regional agency for economic development in Normandy and regional investment fund Normandie Participations

Normandie Hydrolienne has been established with the intention of eventually harnessing up to 2GW of power from the Alderney Race, the eight-mile strait that runs between Alderney and La Hague, France, as well as more than 1GW of resource from adjacent concessions under the control of the States of Alderney.

Combined, Normandie Hydrolienne has the potential to provide more power than the Hinkley Point C Nuclear Power Station in Somerset, England and at a lower cost.

The administrator for all required consents for deployment, operation and construction for tidal power in France is ADEME and the team built within Normandie Hydrolienne looks forward to working with ADEME to seek to secure all of the necessary consents required to build out a tidal power project of scale in Normandy.

The administrator for all required consents for deployment, operation and construction for tidal power in Alderney is the Alderney Commission and whilst no commercial negotiations have commenced with the States of Alderney at this time, Normandie Hydrolienne looks forward to being afforded the opportunity engage in constructive dialogue with the States of Alderney to harness the considerable natural resource surrounding the island

Normandie Hydrolienne will be incorporated in Normandy where it will immediately establish a commercial presence and commence work on identifying a suitable site for turbine assembly, production and commissioning in Normandy.

Tim Cornelius, CEO of SIMEC Atlantis, commented: “Raz Blanchard is sitting on a huge amount of renewable, predictable energy and we wish to bring our project development, financing and power production expertise to help the region of Normandie create jobs and attract a substantial amount of investment into the Region."

"Our techno-economic feasibility study plans for the delivery of an initial 1GW of operational capacity by 2025, which could be quickly expanded to 2GW by 2027, at a Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) competitive with offshore wind farms currently in construction in France," he added.

“Raz Blanchard will be delivered in stages to allow the supply chain to grow in line with our expansion plans. We look forward to working with ADEME, RTE, AD Normandy and Normandie Participations to make tidal energy a reality in Normandy,” Tim concluded.