Wave and tidal energy projects are putting Wales at the helm of global innovation

With the UK Government’s Department of

Energy and Climate Change estimating the UK has around 50% of Europe’s potential tidal energy resource, it is little wonder that tidal technology has moved back up the political and climate agenda in this part of the world.

Green Industries Wales WAVE / TIDAL

Inform.

A recent report by the Commons Environmental Audit Committee has urged the UK Government to consider the benefits of tidal range in the UK’s energy mix.

In July 2021 the UK Government’s Welsh Affairs Committee published its interim report Renewable Energy in Wales noting industry’s view that tidal stream technologies are ready for precommercial deployment, having made significant progress in reliability and cost, and that wave energy could add a net cumulative benefit to the UK of £4bn and 8,100 jobs by 2040. Central to the Welsh Government’s Marine Plan, no area of renewable energy development is higher on the Senedd’s agenda than wave and tidal.

Given the geography and geology of its 1,400km coastline, Wales is wellpositioned to play a global leading role in marine energy. Home to wave and tidal stream Demonstration Zones (off Pembrokeshire and Anglesey respectively), with seabed agreements in place for three separate wave and tidal stream projects, plus proposals in the pipeline for significant tidal range pilots, Wales is nurturing some of the most pioneering and valuable tidal energy solutions on the planet. World-leading Tidal and Wave Projects

The £35m West Anglesey Tidal Demonstration Zone, known as Morlais, is a proposed 35km2 project on the seabed around the promontory of Holy Island. Chosen for its tidal current and relatively low wave regime - Morlais is projected to generate up to 240MW of electricity (enough to power 180,000 households) and transmitted from the Morlais site to the National Grid. Morlais is the first large-scale third sector community renewable energy project in the UK. that include a 132kV transmission line and substation located on the coast - plus world-class deepwater port facilities and support services.

The PDZ project is led by Celtic Sea Power, an arm’s length offshore renewables company wholly owned by Cornwall Council. In addition to the deployment of floating offshore wind and wave energy technology demonstrators, Celtic Sea Power are examining the PDZ’s potential to be the site of a large offshore multi-purpose integrator, to extend the UK transmission network offshore.

Further south, 15 kilometres off the Pembrokeshire coast at a depth of 50-62 metres, the Pembrokeshire Demonstration Zone (PDZ) is a 90km2 area has the potential to support three wave energy arrays, each capable of generating up to 30MW, together with a pre-commercial 90MW floating wind demonstration project. The site also benefits from a 19 kW/m wave resource as well as a 10m/s wind resource, with excellent grid connection possibilities Leading-edge Lagoons and Tidal Technologies

North Wales and Pembrokeshire are fast-becoming global centres of tidal and wave technology innovation - projecting, piloting and testing renewable solutions that could meet the energy needs of Wales and beyond.

Launched in March 2021, the Welsh Government's Tidal Lagoon Challenge

WAVE / TIDAL Inform.

is campaigning for a pathfinder project - following in the footsteps Port of Mostyn’s plan for the proposed North Wales Tidal Lagoon, which would stretch 30km from Llandudno to Prestatyn, impounding an area of 157km2, generating enough predictable blue power to meet the needs of over one million homes.

Bold new plans are also afoot for Swansea Bay’s tidal lagoon being developed as part of DST Innovations’ Blue Eden project. The 9.5km2 lagoon is projected to generate 320MW of carbon free electricity.

“North Wales and Pembrokeshire are fast-becoming global innovation centres for marine energy”

North Wales has already attracted global marine technology leaders such as Minesto (who are developing their Deep Green 10MW array project off the coast of Anglesey) and Nova Innovation’s 1MW array at Ynys Enlli, who are building on their successful deployment of the world’s first commercial tidal array in Shetland in 2016.

Pembrokeshire is building an equally impressive pedigree, with the multiaward-winning ocean energy company Bombora developing a cutting-edge wave energy converter - mWave™ - capable of delivering low cost, low impact 1.5MW renewable electricity for commercial use, and Marine Power Systems choosing to develop its WaveSub wave energy converter in the west Wales marine energy supply chain.

This fast-emerging west Wales renewable energy ‘incubator and accelerator’ ecosystem is perhaps best symbolised by META - the Marine Energy Test Area that offers a series of pre-consented test sites within the relatively sheltered environment of the Milfiord Haven Waterway, providing easy access testing facilities to help marine energy device developers de-risk future deployments.

With a supply chain in place ready to utilise industry-best expertise in constructing and deploying leadingedge marine energy devices - and the added advantage of world-class deep water facilities and support provided by eight major ports - the tide is coming in for the Welsh wave, stream and tidal range projects that are capable of delivering a major sustainable resource for Wales and potentially leading the world in renewable marine energy.

“North Wales and Pembrokeshire are fast-becoming global innovation centres for marine energy”