Welsh tidal energy trial set for 2010

Wales has laid down the gauntlet to Scotland and Northern Ireland in the race to develop tidal energy technology. Last week, Cardiff-based Tidal Energy Limited (TEL) announced plans for a 1MW trial installation at the Ramsey Sound in Pembrokeshire, South Wales.

The company hopes its DeltaStream horizontal turbines will be in the water by summer 2010, making them Wales' first signifcant tidal install. TEL says its 12-month test project will use technology that's proven to be grid-compliant, enabling it to connect to the national grid and earn an income from generated power.

"With regard to water depth and tidal flow, both in direction and velocity, the site is perfect for this device," said Chris Williams, development director at TEL. "Our inventor Richard Ayre first started working for Pembrokeshire Coast National Park when he came up with the idea, and back in 2002 he installed a full-size rotor in the Milford Haven estuary, so the history of the device really is based in Pembrokeshire."

TEL is funded by Eco2 and Carbon Connections, and said it chose the Welsh site over Scotland's European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) because of a lack of available testing berths at EMEC.

The horizontal turbines destined for Ramsey Sound will be assembled in Wales from components supplied by two companies in England, but Williams said: " Pembrokshire has the expertise in structural engineering and marine vessels for the installation of the device."

TEL is in discussions with the owners of a floating crane called the Mersey Mammoth for the 2010 installation.

The primary obstacle for the project is its environmental impact assessment, which TEL is currently undertaking and hopes to submit in August 2009.

"Provided the prototype works well, we'd be looking to work with partners such as utilities and developers to construct arrays of devices by 2012. At full production, TEL could have a workforce in the region of 100 employees," said Williams.

One of tidal power's attractions as a source of renewable energy is its predictability, and the Carbon Trust believes the technology could supply 15-20 per cent of UK electricity demand.

To date, the only commercial-scale UK install is the 1.2MW Seagen site at Northern Ireland's Strangford Lough. However, big utility companies are also entering the sector, including Scottish Power's £100m plan for a 60MW project off the coast of Scotland and Northern Ireland capable of powering 40,000 homes.