Carbon Trust invests in tidal power projects to boost UK wave energy

11 September 2009

The Carbon Trust is to support two cutting edge marine energy devices with an aim to accelerate the commercial development of wave and tidal energy in the UK.

Projects to be supported through the Marine Energy Accelerator include Pelamis Wave Power and Marine Current Turbines.

The Carbon Trust and Pelamis Wave Power are currently exploring ways to remotely manoeuvre technology and integrate remote control technology into existing systems. Carbon Trust is providing the company with £250,000 for the project.

Beth Dickens of Pelamis Wave Power said, ‘This project will allow more machines to be installed more often and more cheaply as we will not be as reliant on good weather conditions and specialist boats for the operation. Carbon Trust were a natural port of call for help in developing this technology which will help speed the deployment of our wave power devices.’

Alongside work with Pelamis Wave Power, the Carbon Trust has invested £150,000 in a project with Marine Current Turbines to develop a way to deploy its pioneering SeaGen tidal energy system. The new method will involve a remotely operated subsea drilling platform which will install foundation piles in advance of the main turbine support structure being deployed in a single unit.

These two projects form part of the wider Carbon Trust’s Marine Energy Accelerator programme, which brings together device developers, component technology manufacturers, engineering consultants and academic research groups to accelerate cost reduction in the industry.

Mark Williamson, director of innovations at the Carbon Trust, said, ‘Innovation in the deployment and maintenance of wave and tidal devices will be critical in cutting the cost of marine energy and unlocking the potential of this fantastic renewable energy resource. Our analysis shows that the UK is already leading the world in wave energy. If we can bring down the costs of deploying this technology, we will be able to generate marine energy on a scale that will help meet our 2020 renewable target and deliver significant economic value as well.’

Energy from wave and tidal power could provide up to 20 per cent of the UK’s current electricity and has the potential to cut carbon dioxide by tens of millions of tonnes, according to recent analysis released by the Carbon Trust.

Copyright © 2009 NewNet

Tags: tidal power, wave power

This story was published on Friday, September 11th, 2009 at 12:34 pm and is filed under Europe, deals, water. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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