16 Feb 2009 08:00
Ramco Energy plc
("Ramco" or the "Company")
SeaEnergy Renewables Limited - Operational Update
Aberdeen, Scotland - 16th February 2009
Ramco Energy plc, the Aberdeen-based energy investment company, announces that its marine renewables subsidiary, SeaEnergy Renewables Limited ("SeaEnergy") has, together with its co-venturers, entered into Exclusivity Agreements with The Crown Estate in relation to the proposed development of two offshore wind farm sites. The awards were announced earlier today by The Crown Estate and result from their Scottish offshore wind application process, applications for which closed on 10th October 2008. Under those agreements SeaEnergy and its co-venturers have been awarded preferred bidder status in respect of two proposed wind farm sites offshore Scotland.
Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm: - SeaEnergy 25%, Airtricity 75% - 9 miles off the east coast of Scotland in the Moray Firth - Circa 920 MW, 184 five MW turbines
Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm: - SeaEnergy 25%, RWE npower renewables 75% - 10 miles off the east coast of Scotland in the Outer Tay Estuary - Circa 905 MW, 181 five MW turbines
Combined SeaEnergy interest in both projects circa 456.25 MW
All awards announced today are subject to a Strategic Environmental Assessment ("SEA"), currently being pursued by the Scottish Government. The grant of any lease to allow construction of a wind farm will be subject to a favourable SEA outcome, site specific environmental impact assessment and statutory consents.
The Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm is located 9 miles off the east coast of Scotland in the Moray Firth and covers 49 Sq miles and is adjacent to the two existing Beatrice Demonstrator turbines installed by Talisman Energy Inc. and Scottish and Southern Energy plc ("SSE"). SeaEnergy holds a 25% interest in the application with SSE subsidiary Airtricity Holdings (UK) Limited ("Airtricity") holding the other 75%. The size of the proposed wind farm will be determined following comprehensive evaluation of the site and its potential interaction with both natural and manmade environments through research and stakeholder consultation, but is likely to be in the region of 920 MW ± 30%.
The Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm is located 10 miles off the east coast of Scotland in the Outer Tay Estuary and covers 58 Sq Miles. SeaEnergy holds a 25% interest in the application with RWE AG subsidiary RWE npower renewables Limited holding the other 75%. The size of the proposed wind farm will be determined following comprehensive evaluation of the site and its potential interaction with both natural and manmade environments through research and stakeholder consultation, but is likely to be in the region of 905 MW ± 30%.
SeaEnergy expects that a 24 month data gathering period over the sites will be required ahead of planning consents being filed. Moving forward, the Joint Ventures will concentrate on early investigations of the proposed sites, and will engage in extensive stakeholder consultation.
As recognition of the SeaEnergy team's success in this process Ramco has agreed to sell up to a further 8% of the issued shares of SeaEnergy to the SeaEnergy management team. This transaction will be finalised shortly, when a valuation has been agreed with Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs. Following this transaction Ramco's stake in SeaEnergy will be reduced to 80%.
The UK Government have committed to source 20% of electricity from renewable sources by 2020, with the Scottish Government backing a target of 31% of electricity from renewable sources by 2011 and 50% by 2020. The third UK Round for offshore windfarm leasing, under which some 25 GW of wind power are planned to be developed, is currently under way as part of plans to reach these targets. SeaEnergy is planning to pursue lease applications in that round.
Steve Remp, Chairman of Ramco and SeaEnergy said:
"Our entry into marine renewables was a natural progression from our long history in the offshore oil and gas industry, where there are numerous synergies with offshore wind. The SeaEnergy concept of co-venturing with industry leaders also mirrors Ramco's successful history in the Caspian. SeaEnergy's partners are some of the biggest players in the wind energy business and we are pleased to be able to contribute SeaEnergy's unique and proven track record in deepwater wind farm development, to drive for future success.
Securing these projects has been a remarkable achievement for SeaEnergy which we only launched nine months ago and I look forward to further success with this team which has taken a greater stake in their business as a result of these awards."
Joel Staadecker, CEO of SeaEnergy said:
"We are delighted with the outcome of the Scottish offshore wind application process. As one of the few indigenous Scottish offshore development companies, we look forward to teaming with both Airtricity and RWE npower renewables to help meet the Scottish Government's renewables energy targets.
These awards, representing a significant milestone in SeaEnergy's strategy, would take us nearly half way to our five year net ownership target of one gigawatt Today's announcement will allow the team to apply their significant experience, as world leaders in deep water offshore wind consenting, development and deployment, as we work on these projects and look to gain further acreage, in the forthcoming UK third round of offshore wind farm licensing."
16th February 2009
ENQUIRIES:
| Ramco Energy plc | ||
| Steven Bertram | Managing Director | 01224 748480 |
| Ambrian Partners | ||
| Andrew Craig / Richard Swindells | 020 7634 4700 | |
| College Hill | ||
| Nick Elwes | 020 7457 2020 |
www.ramco-plc.com
www.seaenergyrenewables.com
Notes to Editors:
SeaEnergy
SeaEnergy was established by its management team and Ramco Energy plc to exploit the global opportunities for large scale offshore wind farm development. The SeaEnergy team has decades of experience in the offshore oil and gas and power generation industries and most recently completed the Beatrice Wind Farm Demonstrator Project for Talisman Energy and SSE. Ramco is providing the team with corporate and project finance expertise as well as the experience of building and managing large consortia to develop and support projects of the magnitude required for large-scale offshore wind farm developments. SeaEnergy has appointed Royal Bank of Canada Europe Limited as its financial advisers.
The SeaEnergy team, through the Beatrice Wind Farm Demonstrator Project, have delivered a series of "first ever" feats not previously achieved in offshore wind farm development, including:
The first ever use of the world's largest wind turbine (5MW) offshore
The first ever use of a "jacket" subsea structure for an offshore wind turbine
The first ever deployment of a wind turbine in deepwater (45 metres)
The first ever assembly of a turbine, tower, rotor, and blades onshore for installation in one piece offshore
The first ever offshore wind turbine installation from a floating vessel
The development of a safe, reliable ladder-less access system from a specialised vessel
SeaEnergy's goals are:
To be the partner of choice
To be at the forefront in the application of marine renewable technologies
To be the recognised leader in marine renewable energy
To develop a portfolio of 3-5GW in 3-5 years, generating within 10 years
To own net interests of 1GW in 5 years
To create enterprise value of > £500million within 5 years
SeaEnergy's strategy is to identify large scale offshore wind farm projects and build consortia to develop and project manage these installations. SeaEnergy has already identified a number of potential opportunities which the team are seeking to develop; initially these are expected to be in the EU.
SEA.L (SEA)