DECC grants £20m for UK marine power

The UK Government has announced a £20 million fund to help drive growth in the nation’s marine energy industry. British firms MeyGen Ltd and Sea Generation Ltd will share the […]

The UK Government has announced a £20 million fund to help drive growth in the nation’s marine energy industry.

British firms MeyGen Ltd and Sea Generation Ltd will share the cash, which was awarded as part of the Government’s Marine Energy Array Demonstrator (MEAD) launched last year. It aims to support the development and testing of pre-commercial marine devices at sea.

Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said: “This £20 million will give MeyGen and SeaGeneration Wales the boost they need to leap to the next level and test their innovative turbines in formations out at sea. These projects will provide valuable insight into how best to harness the power of the sea and take us one vital step closer to realising the full potential of marine in our future energy mix.”

According to DECC, marine energy could provide up to 20% of the nation’s current electricity demand by 2050 as well as cut emissions and support thousands of jobs. The two projects were chosen after a competition was launched in April last year and the projects are expected to start running by the end of March 2016.

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