Tidal Energy

The South West has some of the best tidal resources in Europe. The Bristol Channel's strong mix of tidal range and tidal streams combined with excellent resources around Portland Bill in Dorset and the Isles of Scilly in make the south west one of the most dynamic tidal locations in the UK.

Tidal Streams
The South West is home to a strong base of tidal stream technology developers supported by academic institutions and engineering firms. Looking to build upon this Regen SW are working with Bristol City Council to support their plan to become a national centre for tidal stream technology and innovation. 

The first commercial tidal stream generator was installed 1 km off Lynmouth, north Devon, by Bristol-based Marine Current Turbines. This prototype single rotor 300 kW machine was in succesful operation from May 2003 until its decomissioning in Oct 2009 and although it is gone there still exists the opportunity for other tidal stream developers to utilise the site.

Marine Current Turbines has since gone on to become one of the leading tidal technology generators in the UK. In February 2010 their 1.2 MW Seagen device, installed in the narrows of Strangford Lough, passed a milestone of over 1000 hours of operation, achieving an impressive capacity factor of more than 60 per cent and in August, Seagen has exported 2 GWh to the grid. 

Also based in Bristol, Tidal Generation Limited is developing tidal turbines to generate electricity from tidal flows. TGL have developed an innovative concept for a fully submerged machine which is designed for reliability and economy. A 500 kW concept demonstrator of which has been installed at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney since September 2010 providing power for up to 300 homes.

The region is also the home to a number of consultancy and engineering firms specialising in Tidal energy including Regen SW members IT Power, GL Garrad Hassan and Babcocks Integrated Technology Services. The University of Exeter also has extensive tidal experience including its own tidal technology - Aquascientific.

Tidal Range
At 14 metres the Severn Estuary boasts the second highest tidal range in the world. This creates a massive energy resource with the potential to generate up to five per cent of the UK's electricity demand. In October 2010, DECC announced that, after a two-year feasibility study, there was no strategic case for the government supporting a tidal range project. They did leave open the option for this decision to be revisited in 2015.

There are still options for alternative technologies to utilise the tidal range in the Severn Estuary. Through the SETS project which concluded in 2009, DECC endorsed three alternative technologies for match funding. These included the Tidal Fence by ITP, the Tidal bar by Rolls Royce and Venturi Fence by VerdErg.

The creation of tidal lagoons in the Severn has also been put forward as an alternative technology with lagoons being proposed at Swansea and Bridgewater bays.

There are a number of smaller tidal range opportunities along the north coast of the south west peninsula. Though still in early stages the Wadgebridge Renewable Energy Network (WREN) in Cornwall are consulting on using VerdErg tidal technology in the Camel estuary.