Author(s): Nicholas Yates; Richard Burrows; Ian Walkington; Terry Hedges

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Abstract: The paper presents findings from a recent two-year Joule Centre (JC) study, ‘Tapping the Tidal Power Potential of the Eastern Irish Sea’funded by the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA), as well as subsequent developments. This evaluated the scope for reliable electricity generation from a combination of estuary barrages/lagoons and tidal-stream energy devices using 0-D and 2-D computer modeling. The emphasis was towards conjunctive operation incorporating allowances for other schemes outside the region, including a‘Severn’barrage, an integral part of the study being potential impacts of the energy removal on the overall tidal dynamics of the Irish Sea and environmental issues arising. Estimates arising suggest that the estuarial waters of the North West stretching from the Dee&Mersey, to Morecambe Bay and the Solway Firth are capable of meeting about 5% of national electricity demand. This places it on a par with the‘Severn’estuary, as a potential major contributor of renewable energy in the UK.

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Year: 2010