SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited Plan for World's Largest Ocean Powered Data Centre
September 09 2019 - 2:01AM
RNS Non-Regulatory
TIDMSAE
SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited
09 September 2019
9 September 2019
SIMEC ATLANTIS ENERGY LIMITED
("Atlantis", the "Company" or the "Group")
Plans Announced to Build the World's Largest Ocean Powered Data
Centre in Caithness, Scotland
SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited ("Atlantis"), the global
developer, owner and operator of sustainable energy projects, has
announced ambitions for a tidal-powered data centre in the
Caithness region of Scotland. The power supply for such a data
centre would include electricity supplied via a private wire
network from tidal turbines at the existing MeyGen project
site.
This would be the first ocean powered data centre in the world,
with the potential to attract a hyperscale data centre occupier to
Scotland. It is expected that the data centre would be connected to
multiple international subsea fibre optic cables, offering a fast
and reliable connection to London, Europe and the USA. Further
connectivity to the central belt using domestic terrestrial
networks could significantly improve Scottish data and connectivity
resilience.
The MeyGen project has a seabed lease and consents secured for a
further 80MW of tidal capacity, in addition to the 6MW operational
array which has now generated more than 20,000MWh of electricity
for export to the grid. The target operations date for the data
centre is expected to be 2024, in line with the expansion plans for
the tidal array, however a smaller initial data centre module could
be deployed sooner to draw on the output from the existing tidal
array.
Atlantis has been working with AECOM, the multinational
engineering firm, to assess the feasibility of connecting to high
speed international fibre optic connections and undertake the
systems design for a data centre with access to predictable
renewable generation with grid back-up, at a location which
benefits from low temperatures to assist cooling of the data
centre.
The data centre could also alleviate constraints on other local
renewable energy development, which is restricted by the current
grid capacity and the closure of renewable energy subsidy
mechanisms. Projects including MeyGen would be able to sell power
directly to the data centre via a new private wire network and thus
are expected to benefit from a premium to the wholesale power
prices which are achieved when dispatching output via the National
Grid.
The private wire connection is intended to provide an
alternative pathway to construction of the next large phase of the
MeyGen project without reliance on the UK government's current
limited support schemes for renewable energy. Atlantis is in
discussions with world leading data centre operators to progress
plans for the data centre and facilitate the expansion of MeyGen
using the Scottish supply chain.
It is expected that the turbines to power this giant data centre
will be manufactured in Scotland.
Tim Cornelius, CEO of SIMEC Atlantis, commented:
"Data is being touted as the new oil. It is arguably becoming
the world's most valuable resource, and the amount of data
requiring storage is increasing at a staggering pace. However, data
centres are undeniably power hungry, and the clients of data centre
operators are rightly demanding power be sourced from renewable and
sustainable sources.
This exciting project represents the marriage of a world leading
renewable energy project in MeyGen with a data centre operator that
seeks to provide its clients with a large amount of computing
power, powered from a sustainable and reliable source - the
ocean.
At MeyGen we have many of the ingredients to provide clean power
to the data centre, including a large grid connection agreement,
proximity to international fibre optic connections and persistent
cool weather.
We also believe that Scotland can play a key role in the global
data centre industry thanks to its ready access to clean energy and
we are eager to play our part at Atlantis to turn this potential
into reality."
Enquiries:
SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited via FTI Consulting
Tim Cornelius, Chief Executive Officer
Andrew Dagley, Chief Financial Officer
Cantor Fitzgerald Europe (Nominated
Adviser and Joint Broker) +44 (0)20 7894 7000
Rick Thompson
David Porter
J.P. Morgan Cazenove (Joint Broker)
Michael Wentworth Stanley +44 (0) 207 742 4000
FTI Consulting +44 (0)20 3727 1000
Ben Brewerton
Alex Beagley
James Styles
Molly Stewart
Notes to Editors
Simec Atlantis Energy
SIMEC Atlantis Energy is the global developer, owner and
operator of sustainable energy projects with a diverse portfolio of
more than 1,000 megawatts in various stages of development. This
includes a 77% stake in the world's largest tidal stream power
project, MeyGen, and a 100% stake in the 220MW Uskmouth Power
Station conversion project.
https://simecatlantis.com/
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END
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