Tidal stream power has the potential to deliver 11% of the UK’s current annual electricity and play a significant role in the government’s drive for net-zero, according to new research.
Tidal stream power has the potential to deliver 11% of the UK’s current annual electricity and play a significant role in the government’s drive for net-zero, according to new research.
Scientists from across the UK say that harnessing the power of the ocean’s tidal streams can provide a predictable and reliable means of helping to meet the country’s future energy demand.
However, if that is to be realised, it will require government funding to accelerate innovation and drive down its cost so that future projects can provide cheap electricity. And such opportunities, the authors say, are not presently available given the way the government’s renewable energy funding schemes are configured.
In the past, access to government funding has helped install 18 MW of tidal stream capacity, around 500 times less than the UK’s current offshore wind capacity. This relatively modest funding support to date has put the tidal stream sector on a steep cost reduction trajectory.
Read more at University of Plymouth
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