The European Union-funded Interreg programme has launched a €47m tidal project to install up to 8MW of capacity in and around the English Channel.
Interreg’s Tidal Stream Industry Energiser (Tiger) project aims to boost the prospects for tidal stream in the UK and France by harnessing economies of scale via volume manufacturing and multi-device deployments.
Project partners include tidal technology developers such as Simec Atlantis, Orbital Marine Power, Minesto, Hydroquest and Trident Renewable Energy Systems plus French utility EDF and others.
Swedish player Minesto said it will utilise a €2.4m grant to manufacture, install and operate a 100kW device at a grid-connected site off Brittany, operated by EDF.
The scheme includes €28m of funding from the European Regional Development Fund via the Interreg France (Channel) England Programme.
“The long-term aim is to support the industry to reduce generating costs of tidal stream energy from the existing €300 per megawatt-hour to €150MW/h by 2025 and increase uptake,” said Interreg France (Channel) England Programme manager Carolyn Reid.
Simec Atlantis chief executive Tim Cornelius said Tiger will assist in the development of its proposed Raz Blanchard tidal array off the coast of Normandy.
“This project will serve a dual purpose – it will help us to decarbonise the island of Alderney as well as prepare regional and national governments for the development of large-scale tidal power arrays to harvest some of the over 4GW of available energy waiting to be tapped,” he added.