TIDMSAE
RNS Number : 6572U
SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited
07 April 2021
7 April 2021
SIMEC ATLANTIS ENERGY LIMITED
("SAE", the "Company" and, together with its subsidiaries, the
"Group")
Operational update
SAE is pleased to provide the following operational update
across its business.
Uskmouth Power Station Conversion Project
Following the decision by the Welsh Government to 'call in' the
planning application at Uskmouth, and their announced moratorium on
all new energy from waste projects, SAE remains fully committed to
the project and is confident the project complies with all relevant
Government policies and legislation.
Built in 1959, the Uskmouth power station operated using coal
until 2017, when it stopped operation, in preparation for a fuel
conversion to move away from coal and return to operation using a
new, more sustainable fuel, made from non-recyclable material,
originally destined for landfill. The converted power station could
be an important asset to Newport and Wales and the global fight
against climate change. There are over 2000 coal fired power
stations operating around the world today, and this number is set
to increase. The ability to accelerate the global transition away
from coal has significant implications and SAE is proud to be a
leader in this field. Uskmouth power station will halve the carbon
emissions from when it operated using coal. In comparison to other
thermal technologies operating today, the project will be one of
the lowest emitters, on par with the most efficient combined cycle
gas plants.
SAE was pleased to announce (17 March 2021) that it is a
delivery partner in the South Wales Industrial Cluster, which has
successfully secured grant funding from Innovate UK. The funding
enables SAE to carry out feasibility work on carbon capture usage
and storage (CCUS) which would result in the converted Uskmouth
power station becoming carbon negative. This would make Uskmouth a
leader in both coal replacement technology and carbon capture and
utilisation technology.
The conversion of the Uskmouth project will deliver critical
power to Newport and the National Grid. Newport continues to
attract new industrial companies, with many requiring dependable,
sustainable and dispatchable power, which currently is unable to be
met by renewables. A converted Uskmouth would be the lowest carbon
solution and avoid the need to build new fossil fuel powered
stations to meet these requirements. With the opportunity for CCUS
on site, Newport could lead the world in attracting and powering
green industries.
The planning application is for external infrastructure required
to transport, store, and convey the fuel pellets, which the
planning officer for Newport City Council had recommended approval
of planning permission. On 24 March 2021, the application was
"called in", which means the application will now be determined by
the Welsh Minister and not the local Council. SAE will continue to
engage with Welsh Government to understand the timeline for a
decision and will update the market when details of the expected
timeline are provided.
On environmental permitting, SAE made its final submission to
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) on 19 March 2021 and is confident it
demonstrated the project's compliance with all relevant
legislation. SAE will continue to work with NRW to address any
issues if raised. A decision from NRW is expected in Q3 this
year.
Tidal
SAE continues to work with UK Government to secure the necessary
support mechanisms to allow the further rollout of tidal stream
technology, especially the next phase of the MeyGen project. Once
operational, this project will be the largest tidal array ever
built and continues to be both a pioneer and a flagship for both
the industry and the technology globally. We expect the buildout of
MeyGen will unlock significant international opportunity for
further projects and continue the reduction in the levelized cost
of energy from tidal generation towards that of more established
forms of renewable generation. The UK Government has indicated that
it will announce the details of the support mechanisms this summer,
with the auction round taking place towards the end of the year.
Operationally, MeyGen continues to provide vital learning to help
the design and development for our future projects. Currently,
three of the turbines have been moved to our workshop in Nigg to
allow the team to complete onshore service works. We expect one of
the turbines to be returned to service very shortly with the other
two scheduled to be returned to service later in the year, once
their service works are completed.
Project development for SAE's Raz Blanchard demonstration array,
located between Alderney and France, is making good progress as it
looks to vary the existing site consents and permits to enable
deployment of the next generation of SAE's tidal turbine which is
designed to enable a step change reduction in the levelized cost of
energy from tidal generation. The project will include four
turbines, connected through a subsea hub, with a single export
cable back to shore. The subsea hub has now been proven through its
successful installation at MeyGen in 2020 and the design of the
array will implement lessons learned from this deployment.
Additional offshore site surveys are planned for Q2 2021, which
will allow for more the detailed resource modelling required for
the site-specific detailed design.
SAE welcomes the recently announced French legislation, which
will help provide the necessary revenue support through a
competitive power purchase contract for the project. SAE and its
project partner, Agence de Développement pour la Normandie, will
continue to work closely to progress this important project.
Hydro
SAE is currently managing the construction of three interlinked
hydro projects, with a combined total installed capacity of 5.8MW.
The first project was commissioned in March 2021, with the second
and third projects due to be commissioned in the next few
months.
A separate fourth project commenced construction in January with
commissioning and first generation due in November 2021.
Following commissioning of these projects, SAE's Operations and
Maintenance team will take over the day-to-day management of each
of these schemes. The SAE team continues to manage a broad
portfolio of hydro assets and is working on several innovative and
challenging refurbishment and optimisation projects to maximise the
performance and economics across the portfolio.
Recent Press
SAE notes recent media reports involving its largest
shareholder, SIMEC UK Energy Holdings ("SUEH"), a GFG Alliance
member.
SAE does not comment on press speculation relating to the
operations of its shareholders, but, given some misstatements, the
Board wish to make clear that SAE is an independent company whose
shares are admitted to trading on AIM. SAE understands SUEH
currently owns approximately 43% of the issued share capital of
SAE.
SAE is not a member of the GFG Alliance and has no connection
with any of the funding mechanisms used in that organisation. SAE
is the sole owner of the Uskmouth Power station.
We look forward to continuing to update the market on our
exciting portfolio of projects in the coming months.
For more information please contact:
SIMEC Atlantis Energy +44 (0) 7739 832
Limited 446
Sean Parsons, Director
of External Affairs
-------------------
Investec Bank PLC - NOMAD +44 (0) 20 7597
and Joint Broker 5970
-------------------
Jeremy Ellis
Sara Hale
Ben Griffiths
-------------------
Arden Partners PLC - Joint +44 (0) 20 7614
Broker 5900
-------------------
Ruari McGirr
Richard Johnson
Simon Johnson
-------------------
Notes to Editors
SIMEC Atlantis Energy
Atlantis is a global developer, owner and operator of
sustainable energy projects with a diverse portfolio in various
stages of development. This includes a 77 per cent. stake in the
world's largest tidal stream power project, MeyGen, 100 per cent.
of the 220MW Uskmouth Power Station conversion project and 100 per
cent. of Green Highland Renewables, a leading developer of
mini-hydro projects.
https://www.simecatlantis.com/
More on the MeyGen Project:
https://simecatlantis.com/projects/meygen/
More on the Uskmouth Project:
https://simecatlantis.com/project-development-operation/simec-uskmouth-power/
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