Carbon Trust grant to support first Welsh tidal stream energy device
Environmental impact assessment to benefit wider marine energy industry
The Carbon Trust has offered a grant of up to £390k through its Entrepreneurs Fast Track service to Cardiff-based Tidal Energy Ltd. The grant represents up to 60% of the funding needed to monitor the environmental impacts associated with the deployment of Wales’s first tidal stream renewable energy device at Ramsey Sound, off the Pembrokeshire coast. The findings will then be publically disseminated for the benefit of the wider marine energy industry.
The Carbon Trust Entrepreneurs Fast Track has been supporting Tidal Energy Ltd, a tidal energy device developer, with advice on commercialising its technology since February 2011. Earlier this year, Tidal Energy obtained consent from the Welsh Government (WG) and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to install its 1.2MW DeltaStream device in Welsh waters.
Benj Sykes, Director of Innovation at the Carbon Trust, said:
“The UK’s marine energy industry is world-leading and generating energy from the tides could be a major driver of green growth for us. This grant should provide essential insight into the effects of tidal turbines in sensitive marine environments and, as the findings will be made publicly available, benefit the entire industry.
“Through our Entrepreneurs Fast Track programme we accelerate the UK’s best early stage clean technologies towards commercialisation and the companies behind them from start-up to attractive investment proposition.”
Chris Williams, development director at Tidal Energy Limited, said:
“We were accepted onto the Carbon Trust’s Entrepreneurs Fast Track programme earlier this year, in order to obtain the commercial advice and support we needed to take our renewable tidal technology to market. We have benefited from the Carbon Trust’s considerable expertise and are now delighted to have been awarded up to 60% of the funding we require to conduct environmental assessments for our Ramsey Sound project.
“Tidal Energy Ltd and its majority shareholder Eco2 will make environmental monitoring data available to the market and are pleased to work with the Carbon Trust for the benefit of the whole industry.”
The grant, matched by a contribution from Tidal Energy Ltd., will enable underwater monitoring techniques and study of the interaction of the tidal energy device with the surrounding marine environment.
Analysis released earlier this year by the Carbon Trust shows the UK could capture just under a quarter of the global marine energy market. Equivalent to up to £76bn to the UK economy by 2050, this growing sector could also generate over 68,000 UK jobs if the technology is successfully developed and deployed internationally and the UK builds on its existing lead.
About the Carbon Trust
The Carbon Trust is a not-for-profit company with the mission to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy, providing specialist support to business and the public sector to help cut carbon emissions, save energy and commercialise low carbon technologies. By stimulating low carbon action we contribute to key UK goals of lower carbon emissions, the development of low carbon businesses, increased energy security and associated jobs.
We help to cut carbon emissions now by
- Providing specialist advice and finance to help organisations cut carbon
- Setting standards for carbon reduction
We reduce potential future carbon emissions by
- Opening markets for low carbon technologies
- Leading industry collaborations to commercialise technologies
- Investing in early stage low carbon companies
About Tidal Energy Ltd
Tidal Energy Ltd is an innovative renewable energy company with a vision to generate clean, economical and sustainable tidal stream power with ease and efficiency. It was set up in Wales by a team of marine engineering and renewable energy experts.
Tidal Energy Ltd is pioneering the DeltaStream device - a 1.2MW tidal stream unit, which sits on the seabed without the need for a positive anchoring system. It generates electricity from three separate horizontal axis turbines mounted on a common frame.