The Scottish Government will take over the assets of defunct wave power
company Pelamis, administrators have announced.
Highland and Islands Enterprise, the Government’s economic development
agency for the north, has been announced as the preferred bidder for
acquiring Pelamis Wave Power Limited’s assets after it entered
administration on November 21.
No bidder came forward to take over Pelamis as a going concern so its 16
remaining staff will shortly be made redundant, administrators said.
A substantial number of Pelamis employees were made redundant following the
joint administrators’ appointment.
The Scottish Government set up a public innovation company Wave Energy
Scotland following Pelamis’ demise and pledged to offer job opportunities
for some of its staff.
Blair Nimmo, joint administrator and head of restructuring at KPMG in
Scotland, said: “Following the sales process, I am pleased to confirm that
Highland and Islands Enterprise has been appointed preferred bidder in
relation to acquiring the assets of Pelamis Wave Power Limited.
“Over the coming days we will be working to finalise the sale and are
hopeful that the transaction can be concluded in the near future.
“We would like to thank all parties who expressed an interest during the
sale process.
“Unfortunately, as no going concern solution has been found, the remaining
staff will shortly be made redundant. We are working with government
agencies to ensure employees obtain as much assistance as possible.”
WWF Scotland director Lang Banks said: “It really is a great pity to see
Pelamis Wave Power close and staff lose their jobs.
“Marine renewables have the potential to play an important role in our
future energy mix, helping to cut climate emissions and create jobs around
our coastline. Successfully harnessing the power of the waves is a
challenge we must rise to if we’re to end our addiction to polluting fossil
fuels.
“With 10% of Europe’s wave power potential and some of the technology’s
leading innovators and companies, Scotland is ideally placed to deliver
wave power commercially in the coming years.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We are very pleased that Wave
Energy Scotland has been named by KPMG as the preferred bidder for some of
the assets of Pelamis Wave Power.
“It was always our aim to retain the intellectual property from device
development in Scotland for future benefit.
“The HIE team delivering Wave Energy Scotland is now engaging with KPMG to
complete the purchase.
“Scotland is determined to remain at the forefront of wave power
innovation. We are delighted that these valuable intellectual assets will
remain in Scotland and form the foundation of Wave Energy Scotland’s programme.”
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