Ilfracombe has been recognized as one of four ports in North Devon, with perfect placement for development and operation of marine energy projects in the Bristol Channel, including South West Marine Energy Park (SWMEP), North Devon writes.
Apart from Ilfracombe, the four ports include Appledore, Yelland and Bideford.
The said project forms part of the UK’s plan to erect a considerable number of energy parks, out of which wave and tidal stream could produce over 36GW of renewable energy, thus meeting 20% of the UK’s power demand. According to the estimates of the Carbon Trust the marine energy sector could be worth more than £70 billion to the UK economy by 2050.
Aside to production of pollution free energy, the projects would also perpetuate employment boom and bring significant investments to the city.
Town, district and county councillor Geoff Fowler, who is at the same time chairman of Ilfracombe Harbour Board and sits on the Atlantic Array steering group, sees the project as a golden opportunity for the city.
“Renewable energy using the sea around us has always been high on the town’s agenda and could open up other possibilities for both the fishing sector and cross-channel transport. The next step is to illustrate our ideas to these bodies and see what funding is available” , he said.
Mr Fowler also pointed out the educational trait of the SWMEP project, since the University of Exeter and Plymouth University will both play significant part in the project implementation.
“This could create a huge amount of jobs as well as a tremendous knock-on effect for local students who would benefit from having a hi-tech facility on their doorstep.
“Who knows, the universities might even consider taking over one of the town’s disused hotels as a base” , Fowler added.
The project would also be very beneficial for the local firms such as J&S Marine and Babcock.
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Offshore WIND staff, April 09, 2012; Image: regensw