Morgan Stanley raises stake in tidal power firm
September 8th, 2008 | by admin |By Gerard Wynn
LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - U.S.-based investment bank MorganStanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has increased its stake in Singapore-based tidalpower company Atlantis Resources Corporation, targeting a marineenergy sector that covets the global success of wind power.
Morgan Stanley told Reuters it now has the largestshareholding in Atlantis after a non-cash deal, to be announcedon Monday, whereby it added its own tidal power projectdevelopment business to the bigger company.
The combined pressures of climate change, rising energydemand and security of supply are driving a hunt foralternatives to fossil fuels.Wind power is one of the frontrunners in renewable energytechnologies, and this year surpassed a global 100 gigawattsinstallation milestone which is more than Britain’s entireelectricity-generating capacity.
Many tidal power turbines look like wind turbines, butoperate underwater to catch the tidal flow of water instead ofwind, and the industry wants to emulate the commercial successof offshore wind, given parallels in installation and gridconnection.
“We think we’re really there,” said John Woodley, co-head ofMorgan Stanley’s European and Asian power, gas and relatedbusinesses. Atlantis plans to test 1 and 2 megawatt (MW)turbines next year, building on smaller models, and aims tostart installing commercial-scale “arrays” from 2012.
No array of multiple underwater turbines exists anywhereyet, said Timothy Cornelius, Atlantis chief executive,underlining the immaturity of the industry.
“Once we achieve economies of scale … we’ll becost-competitive with offshore wind which has seen incredibleuptake and investment in the last two years.”
The gravitational pull of the moon causes the world’s seasto rise and fall twice a day. Tidal power has significantadvantages over wind, including a more predictable power sourceand less intrusion, and competition is emerging.
