First UK marine energy park to be built in south west

Wind turbines are seen
in a wind park off the coast
of Ijmuiden, in a file photo.
 REUTERS/ Michael Kooren

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's first marine energy park will be developed in the south west of the country, in a bid to speed up the commercial expansion of the wave and tidal industry from 2020, the government said on Monday.

Over the past seven years, over 100 million pounds have been invested in the south west marine energy industry.

The park will stretch from Bristol to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The first commercial wave farms of 10 to 30 megawatts (MW) will be located off the north Cornish coast.

From 2018, larger wave farms of 100 MW or more could be put in deeper water, a document by developers Regen SW showed.

The Isles of Scilly have the potential to provide the islands with self-sufficient energy or export back to the mainland.

A report by the Offshore Renewables Resource Assessment and Development project estimates that over 1,240 MW of wave energy projects could be developed by 2030.

"This figure could be considerably higher if wave energy technology is successful in driving down costs to become competitive with offshore wind and to make it economically viable to exploit resources greater than 50 km from shore," the document said.

The government said wave or tidal energy has the potential to generate up to 27 gigawatts of power in the UK alone by 2050, equivalent to eight coal-fired power stations.

"Marine power has huge potential in the UK not just in contributing to a greener electricity supply and cutting emissions, but in supporting thousands of jobs in a sector worth a possible 15 billion pounds to the economy to 2050," said Greg Barker, energy and climate minister.

Last year, the government said it planned to double financial support for wave and tidal stream technologies.

©Reuters

UK unlocks 7 billion pounds for green networks

Britain on Monday sped up its work to connect soaring numbers of renewable energy projects to the electricity grid as regulator Ofgem unlocked 7.7 billion pounds of investment for Scottish network operators to modernise their high-speed grids.

Ofgem allowed utilities Scottish Power and SSE to make transmission charges of an initial 2.9 billion pounds between 2013-2021, with a further 4.7 billion pounds chargeable over the period if needed for additional projects approved by the regulator.

The charges will cost consumers 35 pence more per year as transmission charges make up around 2-3 percent of household energy bills, Ofgem said.

The regulator, which has the power to limit the amount of money operators can charge for transporting energy, sped up its so-called price control decision to help companies deal quickly with a growing amount of renewable energy projects.

The proposal is subject to a consultation period.

"The fast-tracked companies can now benefit from the swiftness of the process and concentrate on delivering efficient network improvements for consumers," said Hannah Nixon, Ofgem's senior partner in charge of the price control process.

SSE will receive 5.1 billion pounds and Scottish Power around 2.6 billion pounds in revenue from transmission charges, Ofgem added.

Scottish Power said it will use the money to connect around 11 gigawatts (GW) in offshore and onshore wind power projects and to double electricity export capacity on cables between Scotland and England, among other projects.

"This investment will create up to 1,500 new jobs and deliver plans to connect enough green energy for 6 million homes," said Frank Mitchell, chief executive of Scottish Power Energy Networks.

The other owner of high-voltage electricity networks in Scotland, National Grid, which was not fast-tracked, will find out about its separate allowed transmission charges for 2013 later this year, Ofgem said.

The majority of new renewable energy projects, especially wind farms, will be located in the windier regions of Scotland, while most of Britain's energy is consumed in the south, creating a challenge for electricity transmission.

Britain aims to produce 15 percent of its energy from renewable energy sources by the end of the decade, which, on the back of government incentives, has spurred a high increase in green energy projects.