Faroese electrical company SEV has signed an agreement with Swedish marine energy developer Minesto AB to install two DG100 tidal energy converters in the waters surrounding the Faroe Islands, reports Renewablesnow.com.
Minesto has initiated site development, having already identified a location in Vestmannasund, a strait in the North West part of Faroe Islands. Installation of the first device is planned for late 2019 or early 2020, with the following unit to be deployed in 2020, writes Renewablesnow.com.
The project will be funded through a mix of equity and resources from Minesto and SEV, plus public funding grants.
In addition to providing the required infrastructure for the grid-connected project, SEV has also committed to buy the output of the two subsea kite devices under a power purchase agreement.
Hákun Djurhuus, SEV CEO, is happy about the agreement and points out that “as a remote island society, we don’t have the option of buying electricity from neighbouring countries. We need to create the opportunities for a sustainable future ourselves.”
Faroe Islands have ambitious goals for a bright green energy future. By year 2030 the Faroe Islands aim for 100% green electrical energy.
Due to its favourable site conditions, the islands are surrounded by renewable energy in the form of hydro, wind, tides and waves, and to a certain extent solar energy.
Prior to COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009, the Faroese Parliament agreed to comply with the Kyoto Protocol, and one of the goals is to increase the share of renewable energy in the electricity sector to 75% by 2020. The goal has since been raised to an even higher level by SEV, the Faroese electrical company, announcing a 100% renewable electricity sector by 2030. The Faroese Government has backed this vision in the coalition agreement, signed in September 2015, stating that all onshore electricity production should be green by 2030, and that at least 50% of the households should be heated by renewable energy by 2030.