Simec Atlantis Energy (SAE) has launched a £7 million crowdfunding round on the peer-to-peer finance platform run by Abundance Investment.
The proceeds will help fund the conversion of the former coal-fired power station at Uskmouth in South Wales to run on waste-derived fuel.
The plant will burn pellets produced from residual waste. SEA has completed the front-end engineering and design work and is now ready to start large-scale combustion testing. It expects to begin converting the plant in 2021.
“We believe this conversion can be a game-changer for old and outdated coal-fired power stations across the UK and further afield, giving them a new lease of life whilst providing the affordable baseload generation which allows for greater penetration of renewable energy in our electricity mix,” said SAE chief executive Tim Cornelius.
“Crucially, the new fuel product provides an efficient means of recovering value from waste which could otherwise end up in landfill.”
The money raised will also go towards the development of a tidal energy project off Normandy coast in France.
SAE is already a world leader in tidal energy, having built the 6MW MeyGen installation in the Pentland Firth – a narrow channel separating the Orkney Islands from the Scottish mainland.
The company is planning add two new larger turbines at the site. “We are also in discussions with the UK government about how best to facilitate a larger expansion of the site to use more of the vast available resource and bring down generation costs for future projects,” said Cornelius.
SAE is offering investors five-year bonds with an annual interest rate of 8 per cent. The company has previously raised £10 million across two funding rounds on the Abundance platform.
Abundance co-founder and joint managing director Bruce Davis said: “At this time of great political upheaval and climate emergency, now is the time to turn words into actions. Atlantis is one of the most dynamic energy development companies in the world, so we’re proud to be backing it as it helps lead the UK to a net-zero future.
“Abundance investors have been at the forefront of supporting the low-carbon transition and we expect our customers – drawn from ordinary people throughout the UK – to embrace this opportunity to build on the success of our two previous green bonds for Atlantis, with this third offer, our biggest for them so far.”