ENERGY Firm Voith Hydro has announced plans to axe its operations based in Inverness where 18 people are employed.
The company, in a statement released this morning, said: “Voith Hydro is planning to reorganise the wave power technology within its Ocean Energy Division and to pool the Know-How at the company’s engineering centre in Heidenheim, Germany.
“Within the course of this reorganization it is intended to shut down the location in Inverness. The plans affect 18 local employees.”
Voith has developed the oscillating water column (OWC technology since 2005, made it market-ready and achieved high acclaim with the reference plants Limpet on the Scottish Hebrides and Mutriku in Northern Spain - the world’s first commercial wave power station.
The firms says the projects implemented so far have demonstrated that electricity generation from wave power plants is technically viable and that it can contribute to the renewable energy supply.