Minesto AB: Strong stakeholder engagement towards Minesto's first tidal energy Dragon farm in Hestfjord, Faroe Islands
On Monday 3rd February, ocean energy developer Minesto welcomed Faroese stakeholders, authorities as well as the public to a seminar at the Nordic House in Torshavn. Martin Edlund, CEO of Minesto, presented the company's vision for a sustainable energy system in the Faroe Islands, a 200MW buildout roadmap. The CEO of Faroese utility company Sev, Hákun Djurhuus took part in a panel to discuss the role of tidal energy in reaching a 100% renewable electricity generation as well as the collaboration with Minesto in developing the first Dragon farm (tidal array) in Hestfjord.
The Minesto event attracted a broad range of stakeholders, there among Faroese suppliers, energy companies, academia, authorities, politicians and the business community in general.
"With world class tidal stream resources, marine operations skills and strong local partners Faroe Islands are an ideal location for the first build out of Minesto's dragon farms. Selecting Faroe Islands as our step-in market is for our also motivated by the strong political will and our partner SEVs determination to take the energy transition all the way to net-zero"" said Martin Edlund, CEO of Minesto.
"The collaboration with Minesto is of great value to us, together we are pioneering tidal energy. Our vision is to reach 100% sustainable electricity generation and tidal power with its predictable power has the potential to be the key enabler to reach the target", commented Hákun Djuurhus, CEO of Sev.
Martin Edlund presented how Minesto's dragons contribute to the Faroe Islands electricity mix by lowering total investment needs and providing security of supply to enable the renewable transition. Martin Edlund described the need for local collaboration and investments:
."The Hestjord Dragon Farm will be a first-of-a-kind tidal energy array. We actively work with Sev and the Faroese community with site development to plan for infrastructure and obtain vital permits. There is a genuine interest from Faroese investors and actors to become a part of this journey," said Martin Edlund.
"Realising the Hestfjord dragon farm is a joint work, also outlined in the collaboration agreement between Sev and Minesto. Sev's role in the Hestfjord project includes providing onshore grid infrastructure and of course, willingness to buy the electricity produced", said Hákun Djurhuus.
"We congratulate Minesto for a successful event at the Nordic House, attracting many actors and stakeholders and creating an open and interesting discussion, also acknowledging the challenges ahead. We look forward to continued collaboration with Minesto regarding the realization of the world's first tidal "Dragon" farm of 10MW in Hestfjord", concludes Hákun Djurhuus.