Alderney Tidal and Wave Power
Alderney Tidal And Wave Power
Plans proceeding for Alderney tidal power and wave power projects
tidal | wave
The tiny Channel Island of
Alderney has been recognised by the energy industry as one of the best potential
tidal power locations - better than most of the UK and all of the other Channel Islands. Potentially there is from 750MW to 3GW of
tidal power waiting to be harvested from the coastline of this Crown Dependency located just 8 miles from France and 60 miles from mainland England.
The UK and Channel Islands share almost 50% of the entire
tidal stream resource of Europe, and at least 10% of the tidal stream resource of the whole world. Few of the world's tidal resources can practically be harvested, but
Alderney is in the perfect location
to tap this energy resource and distribute it through the nearby French national grid.
All told it is believed that the Bailiwick of Guernsey could product up to 25GW of power (equivalent to 25 nuclear power stations) thanks to its enormous 20ft
tidal range.
Alderney Renewable Energy Ltd (ARE) is a consortium which has obtained a 5-year exclusive lease to research, survey, and test
tidal power devices in the waters off Alderney. Currently they are undertaking an
environmental impact assessment (EIA) to better understand how tidal power electricity generation will affect local mammals and bird life. When the first phase of this EIA is completed in March 2007 and accepted by the regulatory body
ACRE (Alderney Commission for Renewable Energy), the first
tidal turbines can be installed.
If ARE can meet certain targets set by ACRE, they will be entitled to select 50% of the waters of Alderney from which they can generate electricity by tidal power for at least fifty years.
If successful electricity from
tidal energy
could replace Guernsey's oil power station, power a desalination plant for fresh water, and make the Channel Islands net exporters of power to mainland Europe. There are even hopes that petrol cars can be replaced by
electric vehicles all powered by the tide.
Tidal Power Background Information
Tidal power is still very much in its infancy compared to
wind and
solar power, however the
La Rance Tidal Power Plant in France has been in operation for 40 years generating billions of kWh of electricity, and now generates 240MW of power.
Article Last Modified: 13:38, 11th Jan 2007
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