Pulse Wins Tidal Project Lease in England

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) -- The U.K.'s young marine energy sector continues to edge forward following the award of a lease to Pulse Tidal Limited (Sheffield, England) for deployment of its commercial scale tidal power machine on a shallow seabed near Lynmouth in Devon, on the south coast of England.

The Sheffield-based company plans to deploy the 1.2 megawatt (MW) Pulse-Stream tidal power generating machine -- the largest so far in England -- in 2014. The award from The Crown Estate follows the company's deployment in July 2009 of the first shallow water prototype in the world to supply predictable electricity onshore. At that time, the small 100-kilowatt PS100 prototype system, located in the Humber Estuary on the northeast coast of England, started sending power onshore to Millennium Inorganic Chemicals (Stallingborough), the first U.K. company to take a direct feed from tidal power. For additional information, see July 31, 2009, article - U.K. Tidal Energy Project Sparks First Electricity.

"Since deploying our first demonstration device in 2009, the Pulse Team has made tremendous progress in developing our technology at a commercial scale," commented Pulse chief executive, Bob Smith. "I am delighted that the Crown Estate has recognised this with the award of this AFL".

He added: "The chosen site off Lynmouth is a very attractive location for us with a great tidal resource and a nearby grid connection. It was the site for an earlier consented tidal power project so we already know a great deal about it. Lynmouth is also part of the South West Marine Energy Park, which provides access to local businesses and research facilities to provide an ideal environment for the development of our tidal power system."

In January this year, the U.K. government announced the South West Marine Energy Park, a huge area of coastal sea stretching from Bristol through to Cornwall and as far as the Isles of Scilly, for the development of commercial-scale marine and tidal projects. For additional information, see January 26, 2012, article - U.K. Launches First Marine Energy Park.

Cornwall is already the location of Wave Hub, a giant, grid-connected socket that lies on the seabed 16 kilometers off the Cornwall coast. It is designed to connect cutting-edge wave energy devices for commercial testing. For additional information, see November 12, 2010, article - U.K.'s Wave Hub Open for Business.

The Pulse-Stream device uses the tidal currents to move horizontal blades up and down to drive a generator. The system sits on the sea-bed and is fully submerged even in shallow water. Pulse-Stream can be raised to the surface for maintenance without the use of cranes or offshore vessels.

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