Weekly Intelligence Brief

Cranfield University students conduct research

7 October 2009

A study, commissioned by E.ON, resulted in recommendations for the assessment and development of possible tidal energy sites in the UK.

Research was undertaken by Cranfield University students for E.ON.

The team, which worked on the initiative as part of the group project element of the Offshore Renewable Energy postgraduate course, was tasked with assessing the feasibility of locating a tidal energy farm in the Mull of Galloway. The objective was to identify a suitable location, specifying the most suitable turbine device, producing an economic plan and planning for future maintenance activity.

For its part, E. ON has already identified a number of potential sites for tidal energy generation, including the Mull of Galloway in Scotland, one of their top ten locations in terms of the speed of the tide and current.

In September 2007, a report investigating the potential for tidal energy development in Dumfries and Galloway, shared that as with all the sites, the Mull of Galloway was initially estimated to have a Significant Impact Factor or SIF of 20 %, this translates to an extractable 383 GWh/year from the total energy present of 1915 GWh/year. This was later revised to 12 %, giving 230 GWh/year of extractable energy. The Phase II UK Tidal Stream Energy Resource Assessment also identified additional three sites, worthy of further consideration at Islay, Carmel Head & the Isle of Wight.
 
The postgraduate level Offshore and Ocean Technology course at the University aims to provide an understanding of the underlying science, engineering principles and relevant management techniques in relation to the specialised option selected.

Read more:

Mull of Galloway: http://social.tidaltoday.com/search/node/Mull+of+Galloway