Plans to install and operate the first tidal energy farm in Wales have moved a step closer with the granting of a lease agreement by The Crown Estate, developers Marine Current Turbines and RWE npower renewables have announced.

The Skerries Tidal Stream Array is proposed for the waters off the coast of Anglesey in north Wales. The tidal energy scheme would consist of up to nine turbines in an area between the Skerries group of rocks and islands and Carmel Head about 1km off the Anglesey coast. The 10MW scheme, which has benefited from funding from the Welsh European Funding Office, will be capable of generating enough power to supply electricity to up to 10,000 homes – approximately 20% of Anglesey’s electricity demand. The project will use MCT’s tidal energy technology known as SeaGen.

The Crown Estate will issue the project a lease, a necessary pre-condition for any offshore sea-bed installation in UK waters, once the required environmental consents for the project have been granted by the Welsh Government. The consents application was submitted to the Welsh Government in March 2011 and a decision is expected within the next few months. MCT is now ramping up efforts to raise the finance to build the tidal array, which has been estimated to cost £70M.

“With our proven SeaGen tidal technology and the necessary permits starting to fall into place, we are a good way along the path to deploy Wales’ first-ever tidal farm, and quite possibly the first tidal farm anywhere in UK waters,” commented Dr Andrew Tyler, Chief Executive of MCT. “A critical element remains the financing of the Skerries project but I am confident that investment will be forthcoming given the valuable support to date by RWE and the strong interest in marine energy being shown by other utilities and energy companies.”

“We’re delighted that Marine Current Turbines has been able to take this crucial step towards bringing tidal energy technology closer to operation in Wales,” added Paul Catterall, RWE npower renewables’ Marine Technologies Manager. “Tidal stream energy generation remains an exciting future opportunity for low carbon energy generation, and we’re delighted to be part of the work being undertaken by MCT, the world’s leading tidal technology developer.”

Subject to securing planning and financing for the project, MCT and RWE npower renewables are targeting 2014/2015 for the start of commissioning.