Welsh Government invests in major tidal energy project
The Welsh Government has bought a stake in what will become the largest consented tidal energy project in Europe.
Menter Môn, the Morlais tidal scheme, owned and managed by Ynys Môn social enterprise, is the first of its kind anywhere in the world and will be operational from 2026.
The Welsh Government has taken an £8m equity stake in the project to ensure its progress.
The Anglesey site could generate enough energy for up to 180,000 Welsh households, offering a unique ‘plug and play’ model for developers of tidal energy devices.
This will help reduce costs as they scale up operations to generate clean electricity.
Grid connection
The Welsh Government’s investment will help fund the Cydnerth phase of the project, which will see the grid connection improved at Parc Cybi, Holyhead.
Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Rebecca Evans, said: “We want to make Wales a world centre for emerging tidal technologies and we’re off to a good start on several fronts.
“Our investment will support Menter Môn Morlais to scale up capacity, and develop an industrial cluster for tidal energy and innovation in North Wales, whilst delivering jobs and growth through its pioneering technology, keeping the value local.
“This will further benefit clean energy suppliers of all sizes and position Wales at the forefront of the energy transition.”
Innovation
Dafydd Gruffydd, Managing Director of Menter Môn said: “We welcome the Minister’s announcement, which strengthens our ability to deliver clean energy and local jobs through the Morlais project. This funding supports our vision to position North Wales as a leader in tidal energy innovation, creating opportunities for growth and collaboration across the region.”
John Idris Jones, Chair of Menter Môn Morlais Limited added: “This funding demonstrates the Welsh Government’s commitment to renewable energy and the significant role tidal power can play in our energy future. By supporting projects like Morlais, we are not only unlocking the potential of our natural resources but also laying the foundation for a resilient, green economy in north Wales.”
In response to this announcement, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, the Member of the Senedd for Ynys Môn said: “I warmly welcome the Welsh Government’s support for the Morlais tidal energy scheme. Ynys Môn has the potential to be at the forefront of renewable energy innovation, and this scheme is a perfect example of how we can use the natural resources at our disposal not only to generate green energy for thousands of homes but also to create sustainable jobs and economic development on the island, and to do so in a way that sees the profits being reinvested in the community.
“I look forward to continuing to work closely with Menter Môn to ensure this project realises its full potential.”
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Good. Far more sensible than intermittent solar and wind
It is the predictability that is most important, the energy generated varies from Spring to Neap tides and their are periods of no energy generation when the tides turn. But you will know in advance what you are getting months or years before.
Tidal lagoons may cover the intermittent problem in a more comprehensive way.
Surprisingly young technology, first introduced in 1966 on the Rance estuary in France…
If the Victorians had thought of it, imagine the tally of mangled pre-teen seaweed removers there would have been under the main arch of the bridge over the Mawddach…
Tidal mill at Carew anyone? Hundreds of years old?
Making electricity…sorry I should have repeated what the article was about…
While electrically driven water craft* have been around for about one hundred and fifty years, making commercial quantities of electricity from the ‘tide’ is recorded as 1966…
*see Electrical Boats and Navigation 1894…
What great news for the environment. It’s good that we’re investing in tidal generation at last. We have good tidal levels round our coast and the tide is always there. We know when it’s available. That’s why is so good coupled with wind and solar, which are good but not always available
Great news for the environment unless you consider marine life to be part of the environment. Just like wind-power, tidal energy has a negative local environmental impact and can, if migrating species are affected, have a negative impact further afield too. Unfortunately there is no free lunch when it comes to energy generation – every technology has an environmental cost.
Tidal comes in many forms, this project is using in-stream generation. A very different approach than using estuarine barrages, or tidal capture.
Tidal capture delays the tide going out and barrages could interfere with flow rates, so there some fairly obvious implications for adjacent areas. What, specific, problems are you aware of with in-stream turbines?
Bear in mind this is not an investment in tidal generation, it is an investment in the infrastructure to allow others to invest in generation. This project provides substations and an improved connection to the National Grid but it requires tidal energy companies to invest in the generation itself.
Shouldn’t this be classified as an England and Wales project? After all the electricity produced will be fed into the national grid and that means that England will benefit if electricity becomes cheaper! In that case Westminster should also chip in towards the cost.
I would be very careful what you wish for. As it stands it is a Welsh owned and consents within the power of Welsh government [ other than that required from the Crown Estate ] . It is relatively small scale commercially and the financial value lies in the technology and intellectual property generated, which is presently largely under Wales control. Once it is shown to be successful, the predators will circle soon enough without inviting them in.
You are more informed than me. The first thing that came into my mind after reading the article was: “Hang on a minute, Cymru has had to contribute to HS2 so why not the other way around?”
It could be. If London got off its high horse and lobbed even a decent fraction of that HS2 money to Wales Gov the latter could fund several marine projects and other useful stuff, even a few doctors and nurses.
As things stand Eluned & Co are disinclined to get into a dispute with Keir and his mob. If they wait too long Keir will have wrecked the UK and there’ll bu99er all to dish out via Barnett or any other formula.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but tidal generation technology is not largely under Welsh control at all. Seven generation companies are considering participating in this project. One of them (Môr Energy) is a Welsh subsidiary of a Scottish company (QED Naval). The rest are Scottish, English, Irish, Spanish, French, Swedish or American.
The investment referred to in this article is in infrastructure on dry land (substations and grid connection) – it allows others to test and develop their technology/IP, but does nothing to build Welsh capability other than perhaps in installation & maintenance.
Anything like MeyGen in Scotland.
MeyGen https://g.co/kgs/6Khzng4
Partly.
From what I can gather, some of the turbines will be mounted on the seafloor; others will be floating.