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A 30MW tidal energy project off the coast of the Isle of Wight has been given the green light.
The Perpetuus Tidal Energy Centre (PTEC), a joint venture between private company Perpetuus Energy and the Isle of Wight Council, was granted offshore planning consent last month by the government. The site will be able to host various tidal energy machines, enabling a range of companies to test and demonstrate their technology.
PTEC said it is in discussion with several tidal turbine manufacturers and expects to announce the first contracts within the next two months.
Mark Francis, project director for PTEC, said: “For the site, which varies in depth from 33 to 75 metres, it may make sense to go for mid-depth and higher turbines, as opposed to seabed turbines. However, it remains to be seen what the final turbines will be, and we could easily go for a range of technologies.”
The tidal device will be installed off St Catherine’s Point, the southernmost tip of the Isle of Wight. The site was chosen as it experiences strong tides, with peak flow of up to 3.2m per second, a similar ebb and flood velocity, and bidirectional flow, which is useful for generating as much power as possible. It also experiences relatively few environmental and grid constraints.
Francis said the site does not see as high flow rates as others such as Pentland Firth in Scotland, but that it is “more representative of most sites in the world”.
“It is important that we can show what can be achieved for sites such as this for the future of the industry,” he added.
PTEC hopes to begin onshore construction by summer 2017, and complete offshore construction by 2019-20.