The news follows last week’s announcement of an £11m investment in Aquamarine Power by multi-national power company ABB and existing shareholders including Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE).
The £4m contract will see the first next-generation Oyster device - known as Oyster 2 - fabricated over the next six months at BiFab’s manufacturing plant at Methil on the Firth of Forth in Scotland.
Installation of the device will then begin at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) near Stromness in Orkney in Summer 2011. Once deployed, it is expected to deliver 250 per cent more power than the original Oyster 1, which was successfully installed at EMEC last summer.
The project is also being supported through grant funding awarded by Scottish Enterprise and the Carbon Trust Marine Renewables Proving Fund.
Earlier this year, Scottish Enterprise approved a £6m package of assistance to enable BiFab to expand its operations at Fife Energy Park.
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