Administrator cuts staff at Pelamis

Remaining employees will work with the joint administrators to help realise the company’s assets

More than two-thirds of the staff at Pelamis Wave Power have been laid off after the marine energy firm was placed in administration due to lack of cash.

Pelamis has been a flag-bearer of the wave and tidal sector, with its floating energy converter having gone through several high-profile design iterations.

The device was responsible for the world’s first export of electricity from an offshore wave energy converter to an onshore grid, a feat that encouraged energy giant E.On to purchase a second-generation machine. But last year E.On pulled out of a plan to test the device off Orkney, blaming delays in the development of wave energy technology.

At the end of last month, Pelamis announced that it had been unable to secure additional funding for further development of its technology, and KPMG was appointed as administrator for the business. At the time of appointment, the business employed 56 staff, 10 of whom were based on Orkney. But after assessing the financial situation, the administrator said it had no choice but to make 40 staff redundant.

The remaining 16 employees will continue to work with the joint administrators to help realise the company’s assets.

As PE went to press, Blair Nimmo, joint administrator and head of restructuring at KPMG in Scotland, said: “The financial situation of the business is such that we have had to take the difficult choice of making a large proportion of staff redundant.”

Nimmo said the administration had been difficult for Pelamis’ employees. “We will be working with the employees and government agencies to ensure that the full range of support is available to those affected. We will do everything we can to seek a buyer who may be able to protect the business and see the continuation of the groundbreaking advances Pelamis has made towards renewable energy production.”