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Sea Currents Around Anglesey Coast Could Light Up North Wales

The fast flowing sea currents racing around the north Anglesey coast contain enough energy to provide much of north Wales with electrical power say Friends of the Earth Cymru (FOE Cymru). The environmentalists say that arrays of machines called marine current turbines (1) (2) could harness this energy providing clean, renewable electricity and potentially many jobs in the high unemployment areas of the island county. The north coast of Anglesey around the Wylfa headland is a prime site in Wales. FOE Cymru are urging Anglesey Council to make best efforts to consider and develop the resource and attract the associated industry within the Objective One period to 2006.

Neil Crumpton, Energy Spokesperson said:
"Renewable energy developers are saying that there may be as much energy in the powerful sea currents that race around the north coast of Anglesey as that generated by the nuclear station at Wylfa when at full power. This remarkable wealth of seaborne renewable energy could be commercially harnessed by installing hundreds of water turbines at least a mile out from the Wylfa headlands. Access towers would be visible and there would be some damage to the seabed. But it looks so far to be a relatively benign technology, certainly in comparison to fossil fuel or nuclear electricity generation."

"With training there could be many local jobs probably based around Holyhead and Amlwch for the installation and maintenance of the turbines. And with concerted effort by the Council and people of Anglesey, component manufacturing companies might also be secured in this Objective One area."

"Marine current turbine arrays off the Anglesey coast might well be able to power much of north Wales. The electricity generated by a large array of a thousand or so turbines grouped over 4 square miles, could exceed on average the 250MW consumed by Anglesey Aluminium. At peak flows, such an array could generate as much as the 1,000MW Wylfa nuclear power station, enough to supply about half of all Welsh electrical consumption"

"The top 10 metres of the turbine towers which are fixed to the sea bed would be visible above sea level. The turbine blades, which turn fairly slowly, would be about 20 metres in diameter."

Notes

1) FOE Cymru prefer to call the machines 'marine current' rather than 'tidal' turbines because tides are best acquainted with the rise and fall in sea level in tidal generators - a different renewable energy technology. The latter generate electricity by catching and releasing the tides within large rock lagoons set in shallow coastal seas (eg, Rhyl Flats).

2) Developers 'Marine Current Turbines Ltd, based in Eversley, Hampshire are testing their latest prototype and plan to start commercial deployments by 2005.