Minesto aims to boost the capacity of its Holyhead Deep project to 80MW

The company has submitted a scoping report to UK consenting authorities Marine Management Organisation and Natural Resources Wales.

Marine energy developer Minesto is to expand the commercial roll-out of its Deep Green technology in Holyhead Deep, North Wales.

The company has submitted a scoping report to UK consenting authorities Marine Management Organisation and Natural Resources Wales, asking for their scoping opinion for development of an 80MW site. After extensive preparatory work, Minesto has concluded that such a scale for its first commercial project is appropriate from both a business and a technology development perspective.

This is underpinned by an in-depth study analysing the site’s capacity by Xodus Group. The study concludes that the 9km2 area in Holyhead Deep, for which Minesto currently holds an Agreement for Lease for 10MW from the Crown Estate, is suitable for future deployment of up to 80MW installed capacity of Deep Green power plants.

Dr Martin Edlund, chief executive of Minesto, said: “This expansion enables economies of scale without us having to conduct parallel and costly site development. We will be able to take greater advantage of the asset base of our operational organisation, partner collaborations and the supply chain in Wales and the UK.

“Our projection of an 80MW project gives a levelised cost of energy which is 50% lower than for a 10MW project. This substantial scale-up of the project’s commercial strength will make it even more attractive to site investors. Taking this step also means that we are creating early opportunities for Minesto to sell Deep Green power plants to the newly incorporated site development company Holyhead Deep Ltd.”

Following the planned installation of the first 0.5MW commercial-scale demonstrator this year – backed with EU funds through the Welsh government – Minesto intends to develop the Holyhead Deep site in three phases as part of a deploy-and-monitor approach. This gradual expansion will see Minesto taking the Deep Green technology from demonstrator to full industrial roll-out in North Wales.