To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of what proportion of Europe's tidal energy production is represented by the UK's tidal energy resource production.
Answered on
24 March 2015
Since tidal stream technology is still at an early phase of development, devices have only been deployed for testing, and often for limited periods. Examples are, the SeaGen and Minesto turbines in Strangford Lough, N Ireland, the Deltastream device due to be deployed in Wales and the turbines undergoing testing at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney. However, this represents almost all the tidal stream energy in Europe.
Only one tidal range generator is operating in the EU, the 240MW La Rance tidal barrage in France.