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RDA welcomes £7m investment in marine renewables
23 July 2010
The South West RDA (Regional Development Agency) has welcomed a
£7 million investment in developing wave and tidal technologies of
the future – many of them in the South West.
The Technology Strategy Board (TSB) has today [July 23]
announced the winners of a funding competition to support the
development of existing wave and tidal devices and the development
of new ones.
The RDA has worked in partnership with the TSB to manage the
competition because of the Agency’s ongoing work to develop marine
renewables and the strength of the sector in the South West. This
includes the RDA’s £42 million Wave Hub project which is being
installed off the coast of Cornwall from next week.
Some 35 businesses and universities are involved in the nine
research and development projects that have won TSB backing.
Claire Gibson, director of sustainable resources at the South
West RDA, said: “The fact that more than half of these projects
have strong links with the South West demonstrates the strength of
the marine renewables sector in the region.
“The TSB’s investments will be very welcomed by the fledgling
wave and tidal energy industry and complement our own investments
in marine renewables, including Wave Hub and the Peninsula Research
Institute for Marine Renewable Energy.
“If we are going to harness the vast potential of the oceans to
generate low-carbon electricity for millions of homes then we need
to support research into improving the reliability and performance
of wave and tidal stream devices. The South West is already a
leader in this field and many of these projects will reinforce
that.”
Among those benefitting from the TSB funding is Fred Olsen
Limited, which is leading a project involving the University of
Exeter to develop a wave energy device that can be deployed and
tested at Wave Hub, and Bristol-based Marine Current Turbines to
develop its Seagen tidal generator for exposed and deep water tidal
locations. Falmouth-based Mojo Maritime is also involved in this
project.
Launceston-based Offshore Wave Energy Limited (OWEL) has also
been awarded a grant to help develop its wave energy device, as has
Bristol-based Tidal Generation Limited which is developing a
fully-submerged tidal generation prototype.
Ends
For more information contact Jason Clark, 07980-834368 or via
jason.clark@dca-pr.co.uk
Notes to Editors
For the TSB’s full press release see:
www.innovateuk.org
The South West RDA works for and promotes a modern, stronger and
more resilient economy across South West England. Our work involves
creating better jobs, successful businesses, more prosperous
cities, towns and villages within an economy that uses less carbon
and will still be thriving in 20, 50 and 100 years time.
Wave Hub is a major marine renewables infrastructure project
that will create an electrical ‘socket’ on the seabed in some 50
metres of water around 16kms (10 miles) off the coast of Cornwall
in South West England and connected to the National Grid via a
subsea cable. Groups of wave energy devices will be connected to
Wave Hub and float on or just below the surface of the sea to
assess how well they work and how much power they generate before
being commercially produced and deployed. There are four berths
available at Wave Hub, each covering two square kilometres. Wave
Hub will have an initial maximum capacity of 20MW (enough
electricity to power approximately 7,000 homes) but has been
designed with the potential to scale up to 50MW in the future. The
first wave energy devices are expected to be deployed in 2011.
Wave Hub is being funded with £12.5 million from the South West
RDA, £20 million from the European Regional Development Fund
Convergence Programme and £9.5 million from the UK government.