The news follows the recent unveiling of its Oyster 2 device which will be built in Scotland later this year. This new, next generation 800kW device will deliver 250% more power than the original Oyster 1 with only a 50% increase in footprint. Oyster 1 has been successfully undergoing sea trials at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney since November of last year and is connected to the National Grid.
The company will begin deployment of Oyster 2, which consists of three flaps linked to a single onshore 2.4MW hydroelectric turbine at EMEC in Summer 2011. The proceeds of the fundraising will be used to fund the procurement programme and provide general working capital.
Earlier this year Aquamarine Power secured an award from the Carbon Trust’s Marine Renewables Proving Fund (MRPF) to support the manufacture of Oyster 2.
In partnership with SSE Renewables, the company has already been successful in the Crown Estate leasing round, securing exclusive rights to develop the 200MW Brough Head wave farm. This joint venture is the first site development within the agreement with SSE Renewables to jointly develop up to 1000MW of marine energy sites by 2020 using Oyster technology.
“Aquamarine Power has made substantial progress over the last 12 months. Our current Oyster device has performed well during sea trials surviving the harshest winter seas off the coast of Orkney and the data we have gathered from it has enabled us to design a much more powerful Oyster 2,” said Martin McAdam, Chief Executive Officer of Aquamarine Power. “The additional fundraising enables us to progress to the next phase – the manufacture and installation of Oyster 2 and we will announce the award of these contracts shortly.”
