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Current use in the UK

Although tidal power is variable, it is reliable and predictable and can make a valuable contribution to the diversity, and therefore security, of an electricity system. The technology required to harness tidal energy is well established; however, tidal power remains expensive and there are relatively few applications worldwide.

Tidal stream technology is still in its infancy and there are no projects currently contributing to electricity supplies in the UK; however, development work is still ongoing.

Likely contribution of tidal power to the renewables targets
The large tidal range along the west coasts of England and Wales provides some of the most favourable conditions in the world for the utilisation of tidal power. If all reasonable exploitable estuaries were utilised, the annual generation of electricity from tidal power plants could achieve a potential level of 50 terawatt hours, equivalent to about 15 per cent of current UK electricity consumption.

Future development

There are only about 40 sites around the world, including some sites on the west coast of the UK, with the appropriate magnitude of tidal range. The higher the tides, the more electricity can be generated from a given site, and the lower the cost of electricity produced. Worldwide, approximately 3,000 gigawatts of energy is continuously available from the tides. However, due to the constraints outlined above, it has been estimated that only 2 per cent or 60 gigawatts can potentially be recovered for electricity generation.

At least 30 suitable tidal stream locations have been identified around the UK. The country is at the forefront of the development of these technologies. One of the most advanced tidal stream prototypes, currently supported under BERR's Technology Programme, is the Seaflow project, which has been demonstrated full-scale off the north Devon coast since June 2003.