(CNB) UK TO REVISIT SEVERN TIDAL PROJECT

An independent commission in the U.K. is to revisit the possibility of using the Severn Estuary, a large body of water between England and Wales, to harness tidal energy.

The commission will be set up by the pan-regional Western Gateway Partnership, which covers western England and south Wales.

“The time is right to look again at what could be an incredible source of clean, environmentally friendly energy on our doorstep,” Jane Mudd, who is vice chair of the partnership and also leads Newport City Council, said in a statement Tuesday.

The commission, Mudd added, would “have the expertise and independence it needs to explore whether using the Severn Estuary to create sustainable power is attainable and viable.”

Katherine Bennett, the Western Gateway Partnership’s chair, said it had been known for some time that the Severn had “huge potential for creating clean renewable energy.”

According to a paper published by the Institution of Civil Engineers in 2016, the output from the Severn’s tidal range could be approximately 25 terawatt hours per year, or “about 7% of the UK energy needs.” CNBC - link - Anmar Frangoul - link - picture - link - more like this - link

(NCE) 10% TIDAL

Undersea turbines could generate a tenth of Britain’s power in the future, according to a government-backed sustainable energy research company.

Tidal stream energy uses turbines to extract energy from moving water in oceans and rivers, with UK waters holding around half of Europe's tidal stream resource.

Stephen Wyatt, director of of research and disruptive innovation at Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (ORE) - which was established in 2013 by the government - said the 2020s could be a “golden decade” for the approach.

He told The Independent: “Tidal stream technologies are proven and on the cusp of commercialisation, with the most advanced being home-grown in the UK.

“One of the appealing aspects of tidal is its predicatability. We can forecast tides hundreds of years into the future, covering fluctuations from other power sources – you can’t predict when the sun is going to shine months in advance.

“10% is a significant number. In a world where we’re pushing for net zero, it can really move the dial in terms of UK energy demand.”

According to Wyatt, investment and subsidies could enable the technology to become cost-effective. It could create 26,600 jobs by 2040.

“Tidal energy is on track to be cheaper than both nuclear power and fossil fuels, providing clean and sustainable energy around the world,” he added.

“The UK has put significant funding into innovation and research and development, and a total of 80% of components are made in the UK. There is huge potential to create a lot of jobs in this emerging sector.”

In November it was announced that the UK government will invest £20M per year in tidal stream electricity as part of its flagship renewable energy auction scheme. New Civil Engineer - link - Catherine Kennedy - link - more like this - link

(TCV) TIDAL PREDICTABILITY

A floating tidal stream turbine undergoing testing in Orkney, Scotland. Steve Morgan/Alamy Stock Photo

The UK’s annual electricity demand is expected to more than double by 2050. To meet this daunting target without relying on fossil fuels, the government is betting big on wind power – one of the cheapest forms of renewable power available.

But in August and September 2021, calm weather caused wind energy generation to drop 60% below the seasonal average. Planned and unplanned outages of nuclear power plus high demand for natural gas compounded the problem, resulting in network operators restarting coal power stations and energy companies raising prices.

As hosts of COP26 in Glasgow – the 26th UN climate change summit – the UK has framed the negotiations as a chance to show that “science and innovation can deliver climate solutions”. Established energy sources such as offshore wind will play a big role in decarbonising the economy and slowing climate change. But how can a fully net-zero grid guarantee electricity when the wind drops again in the future?

There’s another way of generating clean energy that the UK has so far failed to exploit: tidal stream power.

The UK has two high tides and two low tides each day. This movement of water is created by the gravitational force of the Moon and Sun and the rotation of the Earth. In places like the Pentland Firth in northern Scotland, islands funnel and speed up these tidal flows. Tidal stream turbines are designed to work in these turbulent waters to generate electricity.

Tidal stream turbines work in a similar way to wind turbines – they even look alike. Wind turbines use the wind blowing over their blades to create a lift force, behaving like an aeroplane wing. One end of the turbine blade is connected to the hub of the rotor, so the lift force on the blades causes them to rotate. This turns a generator, producing electricity.

Tidal stream turbines do the same thing underwater using tidal flows instead of the wind. Most tidal stream turbines that have been installed so far sit on the sea floor, but some designs connect the turbines to a floating structure, making it easier for engineers to maintain them. The Conversation - link - Danny Coles - link - more like this - link

(EUO) TIDAL ENERGY COULD DELIVER 100GW BY 2050

Tidal energy could be a game-changer for a greener, more sustainable economy as the EU moves towards a target of 40-percent renewables in its overall energy mix by 2030.

It could deliver 100 GW of capacity by 2050 – equivalent to 10 percent of Europe's electricity consumption today.

European grants – including Horizon 2020 grants - have been instrumental in moving the needle forward in tidal energy research, and now the technology has reached fruition.

The next step is scaling up the prototype platforms so that tidal energy can become commercially viable and enter the energy grid in a meaningful way.

There's just one hitch in this plan: cost.

Tidal energy is the new kid on the block in terms of the renewable energy market. All types of energy production require significant financial backing, but tidal energy companies are running into problems when they ask for support to scale-up.

Traditional funders, like banks, are either unwilling to invest at all, or else offer sky-high interest rates on their loans, making it commercial nonsense for tidal energy companies to accept. No bank seems to want to be the first one to give tidal energy the green light, only to see the scale-up efforts flop.

"It's really about the promise that this industry will take off and reach some maturity," said Jan Cornellie, project leader of the Clean Energy for EU Islands secretariat.

"At the moment, I think that's also why the banks remain sitting on the fence - to see whether it's really going to happen." - link - Catherine Collins - link - more like this - link