The potential importance of tidal
stream energy to the UK's future renewable energy strategy is well
documented. The Department of Trade and Industry has funded exhaustive
studies of the UK's tidal resource in the past concluding that the
resource is immense, stretching from the Channel Islands in the south
to the Shetland Islands in the north. The resource is well able to
contribute at least 20% of the nation's energy requirement in a predictable
manner. The best tidal current situations are at the extremes of the
country, around the Orkneys and the Channel Islands. Other commercially
attractive sites are in the Bristol Channel, off Portland Bill and
around the Cornish coast. These sites make up about 15% of the total
UK resource. This was estimated at 58TWh/yr in a report by ETSU in
1993. Unlike wind, tidal power production is entirely predictable.
By virtue of its adaptability,
DVC turbine technology can be used in the majority of locations where
substantial tidally induced water currents exist and can also be used
in fast flowing rivers.
