The Crown Estate is to invest over £1m in a Welsh tidal stream energy demonstration project site, located off the coast of Anglesey in north Wales.
The Morlais tidal stream demonstration zone, being developed by Menter Mon, covers an area of 35 sq km in the Irish Sea and aims to attract developers and investors to Anglesey, to develop early-scale tidal energy projects.
Together, these projects could deliver up to 240MW of new clean power and help lay the foundations for the growth of the tidal energy sector in the UK
The Crown Estate’s £1.2m investment will support the project to deliver its environmental monitoring and mitigation package (EMMP).
This is an essential step in safeguarding the marine environment and enabling the project to progress.
The work will monitor for interactions with sensitive species, as well as testing ongoing monitoring technologies.
The work will be applicable to any tidal stream device deployed at the site and represents an “important step” in addressing significant evidence gaps and consenting challenges faced by the currently data poor tidal sector
An advisory group is being established to oversee the development and delivery of the work, with a membership that includes representatives from the Natural Resources Wales, Welsh Government, JNCC, environmental NGOs, the Isle of Anglesey County Council, and tidal stream developers.
Anticipated EMMP delivery partners include Bangor University, Swansea University and SMRU Consulting, strengthening links between the research, energy and innovation sectors.
Nicola Clay, head of new ventures in the Crown Estate’s Marine team, said: “We welcome this latest investment in this important project, which has huge potential to help unlock new forms of clean power for Wales, paving the way for innovative energy technologies, greater resilience of supply, and new jobs, skills and inward investment.
“Our own funding commitment at Morlais is one example of how we’re working in partnership with the UK and Welsh governments to support their commitment to renewable energy growth and the transition to next zero.”
In addition, Mentor Mon has awarded Jones Bros Civil Engineering a contract worth £23.5m to build onshore infrastructure for Anglesey marine energy project, Morlais.
Work will begin this spring.
The announcement comes at the same time as confirmation of £31m by the European Regional Development fund through the Welsh Government for the first phase of construction work.
The project has also been awarded £31m European Regional Development Funds via Welsh Government from the current 2014-2020 EU Structural Funds programme, part of a significant investment of £105m EU funds to support Marine Energy research and development in Wales.