Isra-Mart srl:Isle of Wight floats tidal energy future

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After bagging plans for a giant offshore wind farm, the Isle of Wight could also become a major producer of marine energy if council plans to build a £30m tidal facility in the Solent secure funding.

The island's council has confirmed it submitted a £21m bid to the government's £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund last month to finance the Solent Ocean Energy Centre (SOEC) with a view to establishing one of the UK's leading marine energy hubs.

The first phase of the project is set to consist of two testing areas, one for small, 1MW devices and another for larger, 10MW arrays, as well as an onshore centre for research, development and the manufacture of tidal turbines, although this may be based on the mainland.

The council will hear in June if its application has been successful and, providing a further £9m can be raised from EU funds and private investors and planning hurdles are cleared, the initial stage of the project could be up and running by 2014.

A 100MW project, which could be extended to 250MW – enough to power the entire island – could follow if the full £1.1bn price can be covered through private finance.

The Isle of Wight was also confirmed last week as the site of a 1.2GW Round 3 wind farm to be built by Dutch developers Eneco, while the Solent's strong tidal flows and protected waters make it a promising location for tidal energy.

Council cabinet member Cllr George Brown told the Isle of Wight Country Press the scheme would accelerate the island's efforts to establish itself as a leading green energy hub.

"There has been progress with wind and solar developments and we are now moving into tidal energy as well. [This scheme] would have a huge impact on green energy and job creation," he said.

Eneco unveiled its plans for a 76-square-mile wind farm off the Isle of Wight last week, although the proposals are already facing some local opposition from those who feel installing turbines eight miles offshore would spoil the world-famous coastline.

"We support the wind farm in principle," Tony Williams, environment director at Bournemouth Borough Council, told the Telegraph. "But in terms of visibility we recognise that the 150-metre-high turbines may be an issue and we are concerned they will be located at a distance of 10 miles."

Author Rodney Legg also voiced concerns over the visual impact of the project, telling the newspaper the project "would be spoiling a view that is half as old as time itself".

Similarly, yachting association the RYA expressed concern that the turbines could prove a risk to boating.

"Navigation through operational wind farms should not create significant additional risks for recreational boaters. However, we are concerned that the preferred development area as confirmed by Eneco is poorly located from a wider navigational perspective," said Caroline Price, RYA's planning and environmental adviser.