This month's launch of a world-leading Strangford Lough-based tital power generation project has been quickly followed by news of another initiative.

UK Secretary of State for Energy, John Hutton, has granted planning permission for a prototype tidal stream generator to be tested in the Humber Estuary, near Grimsby.

The second such development - with the world's first system already on trial in Northern Ireland - the model has been developed by Pulse Tidal Ltd with financial backing of £878,000 from the Government.

When it is in the water the pulse generator will be capable of generating up to 0.15MW and will be one of the first tidal power machines to supply the national grid. If it is successful, it will be used to develop larger 1MW units which could be deployed in arrays each generating up to 100MW, enough to power the equivalent of 70,000 homes.

The prototype will be positioned off the south bank of the Humber at Upper Burcom near Stallingborough. It will work by extracting energy from underwater currents in a manner similar to wind turbines. Energy from tidal flows will power a pair of straight horizontal hydrofoils, 11 metres in length, which will move up and down like a dolphin's tail.

-- Advertisement --

John Hutton said: "Our continued support for these emerging technologies is essential if the UK is to cement its position as a world leader in marine.

"I have made clear our commitments to renewable energy and to marine technologies. We will be doubling the support available for those technologies under the Renewables Obligation. This kind of tidal project, if proven, will go some way to helping the UK meet its ambitious targets for clean, green energy," he said.

Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, SeaGen, a 1.2MW tidal generation system, designed by Bristol firm Marine Current Turbines (MCT), has already been installed in the fast-flowing waters of Strangford Lough.

NI Energy Minister, Nigel Dodds commented: "SeaGen is the world's largest tidal current system and is the first to be connected to a local electricity grid. Once installed, it is expected to generate sufficient, clean renewable electricity for some 1,000 homes here, by using the tides in Strangford Lough.

"Northern Ireland has considerable natural resources, and to date wind farms have been our primary source of renewable energy. It is, however, important to optimise the use of all renewable technologies and the installation of the SeaGen project in Strangford Lough demonstrates the potential for Northern Ireland."

See: Tidal Energy World First 'A Step Closer'

(JM)(BMcC)