The Dutch tidal device developer Tocardo BV is pleased to announce the establishment of its UK daughter company Tocardo Tidal Energy Ltd in Wick harbour.

Mr Hans van Breugel, Managing Director of Tocardo BV, states:"This is a start of something really good and big for Caithness, and a major step
forward in developing the tidal energy industry locally. We’re proud to be the first tidal energy developer based in Caithness, doing our share in harnessing the vast tidal energy potential of the Pentland Firth.”

Tocardo Ltd will be supporting the tidal energy market in Caithness and the rest of the UK,producing offshore foundations for Tocardo’s tidal energy devices, as well as assembling tidal turbines from components produced in Caithness and the Netherlands.

Offices currently reside at Forss Business & Technology Park,Forss, Thurso. Later this year, production, assembly and office facilities will be developed on the former dry dock site adjacent to the Wick North pier. By the end of the year, Tocardo Ltd will start the fabrication of a 10 megawatt offshore tidal energy plant in the Pentland Firth. It is anticipated that the first tidal energy from that plant will be produced by early 2009.

The Tocardo tidal turbines resemble “two bladed, underwater wind turbines”, generating electricity from sea currents. As the devices operate completely submergedin water, they cause no visual impact whatsoever. The offshore turbines planned to be fabricated at the Wick site will be equipped with rotor blades of10 metres in diameter, generating 650kW per turbine when installed in the Pentland Firth tidal energy park.

Tocardo BV was established by Teamwork Technology, the original inventors of the Archimedes Wave Swing, a revolutionary wave energy generator. The Tocardo technology features a twin-bladed horizontal axis turbine with direct drive generator and fixed pitch blades. The company is driven to deliver low cost, simple and robust technology, suitable for both offshore deployment and retro-fitting in existing tidal barrages.