DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
AND CLIMATE CHANGE News Release (2009/051) issued by COI News
Distribution Service on 30 April 2009
English and Welsh
waters are to be scoped out, for the first time, for their
potential to host marine energy devices. A new study will look at
the potential for wave, tidal-stream and tidal range technologies
around the English and Welsh coastline.
Speaking at the British Wind Energy Agency (BWEA), tidal and wave
conference Lord Hunt said:
"The marine energy sector has reached a pivotal stage with
more and more devices ready to go into the water. The screening
exercise in English and Welsh waters is a significant step forward
in our plans to harness the power of our seas and secure a
renewable and low carbon energy supply."
The screening exercise will allow us to understand better the
energy potential of marine energy devices and the realistic
timescale of when multiple devices will be installed and
commissioned. This work will also build on data already gathered
for the Offshore Energy SEA, the Welsh Marine Energy Strategic
Plan and other studies.
We will seek input from developers, utilities and other relevant
bodies about their plans and preferred locations for developing
commercial scale Marine energy farms. We will also identify any
data gaps needed to put in place a Strategic Environment
Assessment (SEA) for marine energy devices in England and Wales.
The scoping exercise will inform us on whether a full SEA for
England and Wales is required. This scoping exercise will exclude
the Severn Estuary as a feasibility study is already underway.
Launched September 2007, the feasibility study for the Severn is
assessing costs, benefits and impacts of a Severn tidal power
project or projects to enable Government to decide whether or not
to support a Severn tidal power scheme. A consultation on a
proposed short-list of five schemes (including barrages and
lagoons) for more detailed analysis this year has now closed and a
government response will follow this summer
Notes to the Editors:
1. This work programme only covers England and Wales as the
Scottish Government has already produced a preliminary SEA for
marine energy in Scotland. Northern Ireland has also recently
announced the appointment of consultants, to undertake a SEA of
offshore wind and marine renewables in Northern Irish waters.
2. The screening exercise for Marine Energy devices in England
and Wales will help inform a draft plan for future deployment of
commercially viable proposals in English and Welsh waters.
3. The screening exercise will draw upon environmental data
already gathered from the Offshore Energy SEA, the Severn Tidal
SEA and the Welsh Marine Energy Strategic Plan (WMESP).
4. An SEA is required for any relevant plan or programme which
relates to offshore developments in any part of the United Kingdom.
5. AEA and Hartley Anderson Ltd have been instructed to conduct
the screening exercise on behalf of The Department of Energy and
Climate Change. The screening exercise and route map work is
expected to take a little over six months to complete.
6. The Government has already put in place a framework of
measures in the UK to secure investment in the new low carbon
economy. The policies announced in the Budget provide over £1.4
billion additional targeted support which, together with
announcements made since last autumn, will enable an additional
$10.4 billion of low carbon and energy investment over the next
three years.
Government is allocating £405m through a new Low
Carbon Investment Fund providing targeted support for priority
sectors. This funding will provide support for close-to-market
innovation through, for example, the Environmental Transformation
Fund (ETF), and support for mature industry through a range of
delivery mechanisms such as the Grant for Business Investment
(GBI). This will create jobs and growth now, and develop the low
carbon supply chain and industry for the upturn and meet our 2020
renewables targets and energy goals.
For more information on the Budget please see,
http://decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn047/pn047.aspx
http://interactive.berr.gov.uk/lowcarbon/
Department of Energy and Climate Change
5th Floor, 3
Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD
Public enquiries +44 (0)300
060 4000
Textphone +44 (0)20 7215 6740 (for those with hearing impairment)