A GLASGOW-BASED engineering company is celebrating a major milestone.

Malin Group has completed the fabrication of a buoy that will provide a critical support function to the operation of Minesto’s 0.5 MW Deep Green tidal current generator device, which will be located offshore at Holyhead Deep in Wales.

The buoy will be transported by road this week from Malin Group’s fabrication factory in Westway Park to the King George V Dock on the River Clyde to complete its fitout and commissioning works prior to installation later on this year.

Graham Tait, managing director of Malin Group, said: “This significant milestone demonstrates the full capability within Malin Group for engineering, fabrication and transport of complex structures and we are proud to be able to attract such ground-breaking projects to the River Clyde.

“We look forward to working closely with our client Minesto to ready the unit for sea on this challenging project.”

The 100te offshore buoy is designed for extreme sea conditions. In operation it will provide power and data communications with the DG500 unit and will also act as a floating microgrid to facilitate grid compatibility testing of the subsea tidal generator.

David Collier, chief operating officer at Minesto, added: “The completion of the buoy fabrication represents another big step toward the successful installation and testing of the commercial-scale DG500 tidal generator offshore.”