Martin Williams, Senior News Reporter
An Edinburgh-based firm behind what was described as the world’s largest
commercial wave energy farm has ceased trading after a failed bid to find a
new investor.
Administrators BDO LLP took over the running of wave energy developer
Aquamarine Power in October as they sought a sale or investment.
But James Stephen, BDO business restructuring partner said that despite a
“comprehensive marketing process and after speaking to a number of
interested parties” there were no offers to continue Aquamarine Power as a
going concern.
He said they had “no option but to cease to trade” the firm, whose Oyster
800 wave energy machine was hailed as the future of marine energy. It will
lead to the loss of 13 jobs in Edinburgh and one in Belfast.
“Our duty now as joint administrators is to maximize recoveries from the
asset base for the benefit of creditors,” he added.
In 2013, it emerged its scheme which would see the installation of “the
world’s first ever” fully consented array of up to 50 wave devices in 10m
of “some of the wildest seas in the world” off the north west coast of
Lewis in the Hebrides.
The project along the coast at Lag na Greine, near Fivepenny Borve,
described as one of the best wave energy locations in Europe, was to power
nearly 30,000 homes.
BDO previously indicated that the firm, which had also been working on a
key wave energy project in Orkney, had been “significantly affected” by the
economic climate and a lack of private-sector backing to supplement public
funding.
The wave energy developers had been testing their full-scale Oyster wave
energy machines at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney.
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Mr Stephen, a BDO business restructuring partner, said last month: “Whilst
the company has seen many successes over the last few months, including
securing an 800,000 euro (£580,000) grant from the EU as well as a £2
million contract from Wave Energy Scotland, the economic climate has
significantly affected the business.
“The lack of private-sector backing to supplement public funding support
placed the company under cashflow strain and the directors concluded the
best prospect of concluding a transaction was via the protection of
administration.”
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