The results of Allocation Round 6 (AR6) of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme were announced this morning, and it's exciting to see that six tidal stream projects have been successful this time around.
These are:
- Seastar Tidal Ltd for its SEASTAR1 (Sustainable European Advanced Subsea Tidal Array) project, which uses Nova Innovation's 6-turbine array , at the EMEC Fall of Warness tidal site in Orkney, Scotland;
- Oceanstar Tidal Ltd, for its OCEANSTAR 1 and OCEANSTAR 5 projects, also operated by Nova Innovation, both in Scotland;
- Hydrowing Tidal Projects Ltd for its Ynni'r Lleuad 2 project at Morlais, Anglesey, in Wales;
- Magallanes Tidal Energy Ltd for its Magallanes EMEC Berth 1 Extension at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney; and
- MeyGen PLC for its MeyGen AR62 project in Scotland.
The UK Marine Energy Council welcomed the results, saying:
"These results represent an important step forward for the tidal stream industry. The UK is now on track to have over 130MW of tidal stream capacity in its waters by 2029. These projects will provide entirely predictable renewable energy and a critical service to the UK energy system."
And RenewableUK said that:
"The Government has set a world-leading clean power mission for 2030 and to meet that will need a big step-up from today. The industry stands ready to work with Government to make sure that we're increasing the amount of new renewables coming through each year to the levels needed to meet the clean power mission"
Renewable UK also maintains a map of wave and tidal energy sites here. While wave energy projects have yet to be successful in a CfD auction, organisations such as Marine Energy Wales are lobbying for a small future ringfence, to enable wave energy to obtain "a seat at the table alongside tidal stream, wind and solar to enable further technological development and cost reduction".
Today's announcement shows that tidal stream is fast becoming a viable technology which will enrich the UK's renewable energy mix, and I look forward to seeing these projects, and others, flourish around the UK coastline.
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