Report to a moderator

Thank you Jonathan, a good question. It is essential that all practical forms of renewable energy are utilised to help get close to the overall target – as you say wind power alone will struggle to get there. However, this needs the infrastructure of the existing national grid system to be reinforced to take the power from the more remote locations. This is needed whether this is tidal, wave, or wind, and this needs the full commitment of the Government to ensure it is put in place in time.

The lines bringing the power onshore from the tidal farms to connect with the grid would be funded from the individual project cost of the tidal farm in the same way as existing off-shore wind farms. The actual cost per installed MW will vary depending on the distance from the shore and the size of the farm. Tidal farms, and ones utilising the Triton system in particular, would have an advantage over offshore wind as:
1. the units can be installed much closer together (due to the higher energy content of tidal currents), this saving cable lengths;
2. the Triton can produce 10MW from one installation – far higher than any existing offshore wind turbine – so again reducing the number of cables required;
3. most tidal farms will be sited within a few km of the shore as this is where the strongest currents can be found – again reducing the lengths of cabling back to a shore connection.

So costs should certainly be competitive with, and quite likely better than those for, the offshore wind industry.