- Tidal stream projects in the UK have provided enough electricity to power over 25,000 UK households for a year.
- Allocation Round 5 (AR5) support could see an additional 53MW, at £198/MWh, of tidal stream capacity deployed in British waters by 2028 across seven projects in Scotland and Wales.
The Marine Energy Council (MEC), United Kingdom, has secured contracts for 11 tidal stream projects in the government’s latest renewable auction. Over 50 megawatts (MW) of tidal stream capacity contracted builds on the 40MW secured in the previous round, made possible by the government’s international leadership in setting a ringfence.
Tidal stream harnesses the power of the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun via floating or sea-bed-mounted turbines. It is distinct from tidal lagoons or barrages, which require large structures to be built. Allocation Round 5 (AR5) support could see an additional 53MW, at £198/MWh, of tidal stream capacity deployed in British waters by 2028 across seven projects in Scotland and Wales.
Tidal stream projects in the UK have provided enough electricity to power over 25,000 UK households for a year. This entirely predictable renewable energy resource will have an increasingly important role in the UK’s energy mix. Research has shown that deploying just 6GW of tidal stream projects will reduce energy system costs by over £1bn per year.
The MEC has welcomed the fantastic results and the industry’s strong response to successive auction round support. These projects are being delivered with over 80 per cent UK supply chain content spend. The government can embed UK supply chain content in global deployment and export tidal stream technology worldwide.
Tidal stream, via economies of scale, volume, accelerated learning, and reduction in the cost of deployment, is on a similar cost reduction path as wind and solar. The cost of deployment will fall as more capacity is deployed. The tidal stream will be cheaper than the new nuclear at 1GW of deployment.
A commitment to an ongoing ringfence for tidal stream will give the industry the certainty it needs to invest in UK supply chains. Increasing the ringfence will accelerate deployment and allow technology to become cheaper, as more is deployed.