|
The 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 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.
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."
The project , which has been granted under the Transport and Works Act Order, will be piloted for a period of up to three years and then removed. A separate licence which is required before the prototype can be put in the water from the Marine and Fisheries Agency under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 has also been granted.
|
According to mixing specialists Chemineer, the pressure on the water industry to reduce spiralling energy costs could see a major switch to top-entry mixers, which are cutting bills by up to a staggering 85% compared to submersible mixers.
A recent study carried out by Whitehouse Scientific exposed an imported sieve mesh as falling far short of its claimed performance specifications.
