- 27/06/2011
- Posted by: Joyce Watson MS
- Category: Feature
Assembly Member Joyce Watson paid a visit last week to a public exhibition showing how the Ramsay Sound Deltastream project is progressing.
In March, the Welsh and UK governments granted consent for Cardiff-based Company Tidal Energy Ltd to install a tidal turbine in the channel between the mainland and Ramsay Island – the body of water is renowned for its fast tidal streams which reach up to six knots (three metres per second) on spring tides. It is hoped that when operational, the 1.2 megawatt turbine, which will sit 30 meters below the surface on the seabed, will generate enough electricity to power 1,000 homes.
Following her visit to the exhibition in St Davids City Hall on Friday (17 June), Mrs Watson, who has been a strong backer of the project and in 2009 invited Tidal Energy Ltd to the Assembly to make their case for the technology, said:
“With over 1200km of coastline, Wales is strongly positioned to champion marine renewable energy – this technology appears to offer simple, sustainable, low-cost and environmentally-sensitive energy.
“In Pembrokeshire we know too well the difficulties of getting clean, affordable energy in an area of outstanding natural beauty and unlike other renewables, the underwater turbine will be invisible and generate predictable, clean electricity during both the ebb and flood phases of the tidal cycle.”
The Labour AM for Mid and West Wales continued:
“The next step is manufacturing the device and I would hope that this will generate a great deal of local investment and employment, especially as Pembrokeshire, and particularly Milford Haven, has the best facilities and workforce to do the job.”
Manufacture of the device is scheduled to start in September with installation of the unit planned for Spring 2012.
