Marine energy developer Minesto announced plans to increase the installed capacity of its proposed tidal array in North Wales to 80MW, rather than the originally proposed 10MW.

The company submitted a scoping report to UK consenting authorities Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and Natural Resources Wales (NRW), asking for their scoping opinion for development of an 80MW site in Holyhead Deep in North Wales.

Minesto said the decision was underpinned by a study analysing the site’s capacity by Xodus Group, which concluded that the 9km2 area in Holyhead Deep, for which Minesto currently holds an Agreement for Lease for 10MW from the Crown Estate, is suitable for future deployment of up to 80MW installed capacity of Minesto’s Deep Green power plants. 

Martin Edlund, chief executive of Minesto said: “This expansion enables economies of scale without us having to conduct parallel and costly site development. We will be able to take greater advantage of the asset base of our operational organisation, partner collaborations and the supply chain in Wales and the UK”.

He said that an 80MW project in Holyhead Deep would give a 50 percent lower levelized cost of energy (LCOE), compared to a 10 MW project.

Following the planned installation of the first 0.5 MW commercial-scale demonstrator this year – backed with EU funds through the Welsh Government – Minesto intends to develop the Holyhead Deep site in three phases as part of a deploy-and-monitor approach. This gradual expansion will see Minesto taking the Deep Green technology from demonstrator to full industrial roll-out in North Wales.

Meanwhile, American wave energy developer, GWave has announced it plans to deploy a 9MW wave energy project at Wave Hub in Cornwall. GWave and its partners are now conducting detailed tests of the mooring system at the world-leading Coastal, Ocean and Sediment Transport (COAST) laboratory at Plymouth University.

Robert Stoddard, GWave’s CEO said: “Our project launch at Cornwall’s Wave Hub facility will be a critical step in GWave’s program to bring to market cheap, clean electricity from the ocean. Wave Hub was our clear first choice for the full-scale demonstration because of the world-class facility and staff at Wave Hub as well as the deep maritime expertise and experience of South West businesses.”