Cardiff-based Tidal Energy Ltd has installed the country’s first tidal energy generator in Ramsey Sound, Pembrokeshire.
Called DeltaStream, the device will, according to the company, become one of the first grid-connected demonstration devices worldwide to generate green, sustainable and predictable tidal power.
The patented DeltaStream device was loaded off the quayside in Pembroke Port by the offshore construction vessel Siem Daya 1, before making the short passage to Ramsey Sound for installation.
Managing Director of Tidal Energy Ltd, Martin Murphy , said: “The deployment of DeltaStream marks a significant achievement for the original inventor of the device, Richard Ayre, and for our team, our shareholders, Wales and the wider tidal industry. We are immensely proud to be one of the frontrunners of tidal energy development in this nascent industry, which has great and far-reaching potential for green energy production.”
Weighing 200 tonnes, with a frame 16m long and height of 18m, the DeltaStream 400kW demonstration device has a gravity-based foundation which sits on the seabed under its own weight, without the need to drill or pile the structure into the seabed.
A total of around £15M has been invested in the project, which has been provided by the company’s majority shareholder, Welsh renewable energy company Eco2 Ltd, along with EU funds worth £8M delivered through the Welsh Government.
Eco2 Ltd, CEO, David Williams said that the company looks forward to demonstrating the viability of this technology and developing its commercial scale demonstration project at St Davids Head.
This site at St Davids Head in Pembrokeshire is two miles north of Ramsey Sound and is being developed by Eco2 in partnership with Tidal Energy Ltd. This sould involve up to nine DeltaStream devices being deployed, generating enough power for approximately 10,000 homes.