Hard times force energy company into liquidation

A BODMIN renewable energy company has gone into liquidation after falling victim to the poor economic conditions.

Orecon, which developed wave energy systems to obtain power from the seas, ceased trading at the end of January after failing to secure fresh financial backing.

Its chief executive, David Crisp, said it had fallen victim to a combination of factors that made it unable to continue. The firm employed a team of 10 marine engineers.

"It is very said for Cornwall," said Mr Crisp. "I invested a lot of time and effort and I'm sorry to see it go."

The company was in talks to sign a deal to plug into the Wave Hub project off Hayle, designed to get power generated from wave energy onto the National Grid. "We couldn't get any financial backing and have been obliged to close things down," Mr Crisp said.

"I had really high hopes and expectations for Cornwall and I remain convinced that wave energy is a massive renewable energy resource for the world.

"It is also a massive business opportunity and I look forward to seeing that come about."

It had been known since November that the company was struggling to attract financial backing.

Mr Crisp said yesterday the fragile state of the economy, coupled with the untried nature of green energy as a business sector, had combined with a reluctance by lenders to give money to force the company under.