Tidal turbine on course for UK funding
MCT’s SeaGen tidal turbine in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland, is supplying power to the grid.
The SeaGen tidal energy turbine, designed by Britain’s Marine Current Turbines Ltd, has achieved and passed the UK Government’s operating performance criteria for the UK’s emerging tidal and wave energy technologies.
It is the first ever tidal or wave energy device to have passed this milestone, set by the Department of Energy & Climate Change to qualify for its Marine Renewables Deployment Fund (MRDF).
The 1.2MW SeaGen is the world’s only commercial scale tidal current turbine that is generating power into an electricity grid.
By passing this milestone, independently assessed by AEA Technology on behalf of DECC, Marine Current Turbines (MCT) expects that funding support for the company’s first demonstrator tidal array will be forthcoming from the Government’s Low Carbon Innovation Fund or an equivalent government clean-tech funding stream, now that the £42m MRDF is to be abolished.
Martin Wright, CEO of Marine Current Turbines said, ‘Once again, MCT has set an industry benchmark with its SeaGen tidal current technology. SeaGen was the first of its scale to be deployed anywhere in the world, and the first tidal system in the UK to receive ROCs.
‘We are showing that tidal current energy has a contribution to make to the UK’s future energy mix, and importantly laying the foundations for the development of a sizeable marine energy industry in this country, an ambition which is on the UK Government’s green growth agenda.
‘Whilst we are very pleased with SeaGen’s performance, we are drawing on our experience over the past two years to improve its capabilities. Within the next two years, we plan to have a range of tidal technologies for deployment in various depths of water and in different geographical locations so we can meet the needs of our customers in the UK and overseas.’
MCT has plans to deploy four tidal farms in UK waters by the end of the decade as well as deploy its SeaGen technology in Canada’s Nova Scotia. MCT’s first tidal farms in UK waters are earmarked for Anglesey (north Wales) and Kyle Rhea in Scotland’s Western Isles.
Stephen Wyatt from the Carbon Trust said, ‘We are delighted that MCT, a British company, has passed this important milestone. Support from the Carbon Trust has been critical in the company’s development to date. The marine sector has great prospects to deliver secure energy, new jobs and generate British exports as the technology and industry matures.’
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