Another bit of good news on renewable energy in Wales, with the country’s first full-scale tidal stream energy generator picking up a £6.4 million grant from the European Regional Development Fund which should see it operational by 2012. The developer of the DeltaStream device, Tidal Energy Ltd, have managed to secure around £11 million in total to produce and deploy it.
Tidal Energy will be working alongside Cranfield University on the deployment as they have been involved in the research and development of the project over the past few years, and the university will monitor the performance and overall functionality of the DeltaStream. The DeltaStream was developed by Richard Ayre and operates from the seabed without requiring a positive anchoring system.
Reaction to the news has been positive, with the First Minister of Wales suggesting it will create a significant number of green jobs in the country as well has helping Wales to meet its future renewable energy targets. The DeltaStream will initially undergo a year long demonstration period where it will power homes in St.Davids to allow the viability of the device to be assessed.
More information on Welsh renewable energy can be found here:
http://www.renewableenergywales.co.uk/
http://www.swalec.co.uk/AboutUs/OurCredentials/
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/wales/
