P2P investment platform Abundance launched a unique opportunity for “ordinary people” to invest as little as £5 directly in Atlantis Ocean Energy tidal power and earn 8% p.a. for 5 years, as this innovative renewable energy technology comes of age. The investment is eligible for inclusion in the Abundance ISA or SIPP tax-efficient wrappers. At this writing over £472,820 has been raised toward the campaign’s £4,292,999 goal. Together with the capital raised in Atlantis’ recent £4 million share offer, funds are expected to be used to progress and accelerate the development of the best opportunities in the Atlantis project pipeline, to repay some more expensive debt, and to provide general working capital for the Atlantis Group.
“It’s often claimed that the UK is the Saudi Arabia of wind – we can also be considered the Texas of tides,” stated Abundance Co-Founder and joint Managing Director Bruce Davis. “With some of the best tidal resources in the world the UK can and should become a global leader in this proven and exciting technology, and pioneering companies like Atlantis are making it happen. We are proud to be offering the British public the chance to share directly in the returns this exciting new renewable energy will earn. For Abundance’s customers, this is the first time they have had the chance to invest in a UK-quoted company with global interests, an important sign that the green finance sector is also maturing and helping to drive the growth of the green economy.”
Atlantis is a global leader in the marine power sector and is raising funds to expand on its success. Its flagship tidal project, MeyGen, started generating electricity off the coast of Scotland late last year and is the world’s first multi-megawatt, multi-turbine tidal power project to begin operations. The 5-year Debenture, which will pay 8% a year, issued by subsidiary Atlantis Ocean Energy, will provide capital to the group as it makes further improvements to subsea technology and progresses other opportunities in its rapidly growing portfolio. The Debenture is seeking to raise a minimum of £2M.
“This is the most exciting time in the history of tidal power. We want to raise further capital to take advantage of our recent success which will help us achieve the huge potential the ocean offers for generating clean, environmentally benign, highly predictable power across the world,” indicated Atlantis Resources Ltd CEO Tim Cornelius. “The success of our flagship Scottish project MeyGen has significantly raised awareness of tidal as one of the most rapidly growing sources of sustainable electricity generation for the future, and this offer is a chance for ordinary investors to help it grow and share in its financial success.”
While harnessing energy from the tides has been happening for centuries in traditional tidal mills, it has only recently developed as a technology for generating commercial scale renewable electricity, with previous projects reliant on large barrages. Atlantis notes that tidal turbines are the newest form of the technology, operating like underwater windmills but driven by the power of consistent, fast-moving marine currents. The power generation avoids many of the problems associated with other forms of renewable generation: they are “completely predictable”, the turbines can’t be seen beneath the water, they have a very low impact on marine life and they don’t impede fishermen and don’t interrupt recreational or commercial sailing vessels.
Atlantis estimates that there is potential for 20 GW of tidal stream power projects in the world, of which over 11 GW is in the UK, much of it in the fast-flowing waters off the coast of Scotland. The first phase of the MeyGen project – the largest of its type in the world – is 6 MW (generating enough electricity for the equivalent of 2,600 homes) and is planned to reach its 86 MW aggregate installed capacity by the end of 2019, with further phases of 166 MW and 146 MW aiming to be completed in the next 10 years.
As well as the MeyGen project in Scotland, Atlantis has other tidal stream projects in the pipeline in France, South Korea, Canada and Indonesia with plans to develop a tidal barrage project in the Wyre estuary in the UK and investigating opportunities associated with pumped and battery storage.
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