The tidal modelling project running until the end of 2012 will be led by consulting, engineering and construction firm Black & Veatch supported by hydrodynamic modelling specialists HR Wallingford and the University of Edinburgh.
The project will develop models of the whole UK Continental Shelf that will be used to investigate how energy extraction at one site may affect the energy available elsewhere.
A wide range of possible future tidal stream and tidal range sites, with differing technology possibilities will be represented in the models.
ETI said that the project will identify how the interactions between different sites around the UK combine to form an overall effect, and what constraints these interactions will place on the design, development and location of future systems.
ETI chief executive David Clarke said there is potential for more of the UK’s tidal resources to be used to generate energy in the future from a combination of tidal stream and tidal range technologies.
