Nova Welcomes Grantham Institute Report
Nova welcomed a ground-breaking new report that urges the UK Government to take a global lead and put tidal stream energy front and centre of our drive to become a net zero economy by 2045.
The report from The London School of Economics’ Grantham Institute, entitled Seizing sustainable growth opportunities from tidal stream energy in the UK, named Nova as world leaders in tidal stream energy. It also highlighted how our Shetland Tidal Array has been generating power continuously since 2016, demonstrating how tidal array technology can operate for sustained periods without the need for regular maintenance intervention.
It also focused on how Nova is exporting its expertise to other countries around the world including a power purchase agreement with Nova Scotia in Canada and an order to build 15 tidal turbines off its coast. The report recommends that, while the global market for tidal is still in its infancy, ministers maximise ‘sustainable growth opportunities’ from tidal stream energy through better co-ordination between key Government departments.
It also calls for wider dialogue and consultation between Government and the nation’s commercial sector to develop a ‘holistic strategy’ for an offshore economy with tidal stream at its heart.
Other key highlights in the report are the UK's existing 10 MW of tidal stream generation capacity already installed which represents over half of the world’s currently operational capacity. Pointing out the highly predictable nature of generating energy from the tide, it references the generation of green jobs across the country and how the UK could export opportunities from “high-value products relevant for tidal stream energy such as turbines, in which it is already specialised”.
In terms of geography, Scotland was named as being best placed to lead tidal stream energy development, through “ample marine resource, world-leading research facilities, strong innovation activity in related technologies, and transferable capabilities from its established offshore wind and oil and gas sectors”.
“This report from the LSE highlights how the UK has the opportunity to change the world when it comes to marine energy. Tidal is not like wind or solar, sometimes the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine, but the tide never fails. Tidal energy is entirely predictable, and provides total energy security.
The UK, as our Shetland Tidal Array shows, has a world-leading resource when it comes to tidal. It’s time to work together to maximise this benefit for the nation, build a world-leading renewable sector that not only generates clean energy, but creates jobs, builds UK supply chain and captures our export potential.””