Wednesday, August 23, 2006

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY WAVES AT OUR SHORE

11:00 - 19 August 2006
Utting out as it does into the Western Approaches and Atlantic swells, South West England is blessed with one of the best wave and tidal resources in the world. You only have to walk along any stretch of our 700-mile coastline to appreciate the awesome power of nature pounding the rocks below. But what if we could somehow harness that energy to power our homes and businesses - an endless supply that did not depend on burning fossil fuels and polluting the very environment on which so many of our livelihoods depend?

That was a question we were seeking to answer when we first commissioned a study called the Seapower SW Review back in 2003. It looked at the power of the waves and tides along our coast, how they might be used to generate electricity and what obstacles would need to be overcome.

It concluded that there was potential to "capture" wave energy from the Isles of Scilly to Ilfracombe in North Devon, while the Bristol Channel and parts of the south coast had strong tidal streams.

Combine this with fewer storms than Scotland and a strong electricity grid network near the coast and South West England was in pole position to harness the power of the sea.

Fast-forward three years and we have made great strides. In June, the South West RDA applied to the Government to build a revolutionary wave farm ten miles off the coast of Hayle, and on Thursday the Department of Trade and Industry announced that it would make up to £4.5 million available towards the £20 million total cost of the project, subject to the granting of relevant building consents.

The RDA is planning to match the level of Government funding, and will be making an application to European structural funds to cover the remainder of the costs. The project is now waiting for the outcome of the consents process - which is expected by the end of the year.

An economic impact study published by the South West RDA last year showed that the project could create 700 jobs and be worth £27 million a year to the economy by 2020.

Called the Wave Hub, it would resemble a large electric socket on the seabed, connected to the National Grid via an underwater cable. Wave energy devices, of which there are several emerging around the world, would be attached to the Wave Hub.

What makes this project unique is that the developers would have, for the first time, an area of sea with full planning permission, a grid connection and the opportunity to test their devices on a scale that has not been tried anywhere else in the world. Although only a demonstrator project, the Wave Hub could generate enough electricity to power 7,500 homes, which is three per cent of Cornwall's domestic electricity needs. More importantly, it would position South West England as a world leader in the development of wave energy technology, potentially creating hundreds of jobs in the future.

The Wave Hub would employ about 140 people during its development and construction, but developers would need to manufacture, deploy, operate and maintain their wave energy devices, and it is anticipated that much of this work would be carried out in Cornwall and the wider region.

We are also talking to ING, the developers of Hayle Harbour, to ensure that there would be workspace provided as part of its redevelopment plans to accommodate this activity.

As part of our planning application, we have had to carry out very detailed environmental impact studies, looking at everything from wave heights to the effects of electro-magnetic fields on sharks and dolphins.

Since those studies were published two months ago, there has been much debate about one issue in particular - the impact of the devices using the Wave Hub on the quality of surf on Cornwall's north coast.

It's true to say that wave energy devices, by their nature, absorb power from the waves and convert it into electricity. But what many people have seized upon is the worst case scenario from our studies, rather than what we believe will actually happen.

What our studies have shown is that in the most likely case, the height of waves coming ashore along a narrow stretch of coast between Portreath and Penhale could be five per cent lower as a result of the Wave Hub. This is less than two inches in a 3ft wave.

We also looked at a worst case scenario because we have to demonstrate to the Government that we have considered a wide range of options. This assumed that a certain type of wave device was connected to the Wave Hub. In this case, the impact could be a maximum 11 per cent reduction in wave height but there are in fact no plans for that particular device to be installed.

In promoting the Wave Hub project, we have consulted both the Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) and the British Surfing Association (BSA) for more than a year.

SAS has been unequivocal in its support and has published a policy statement saying that it does not believe surfers will notice a five per cent reduction in wave height and that even the worst case scenario "should not result in a substantial reduction in surf quality".

The BSA has also signalled its support in principle but does continue to have some concern about the impact on wave height and we will continue to work with the surfing community to address these issues.

The Wave Hub is a demonstrator project that still needs planning permission and further funding before it becomes a reality.

If, as we hope, it becomes operational in the spring or summer of 2008, we will need to monitor closely how it performs before any future wave farms are even considered. And none of those would happen without consulting with all interested parties.

The Government's recent Energy Review called for a five-fold increase in the amount of electricity generated from renewable resources because of the pressing need to tackle global warming and climate change.

We believe that the Wave Hub would play a vital role towards achieving that goal.