An additional 10MW of tidal stream capacity has been contracted in Wales as part of Allocation Round 6 (AR6) of the UK Government’s Contracts for Difference renewable auction.
Welsh project HydroWing secured 10MW of the total 28MW of tidal stream contracts awarded across the UK. This is in addition to the 10MW the project secured in 2023.
AR6 is the third consecutive round of the auction with a ringfence for tidal stream technology. In March, UK Government confirmed a £10 million ringfence.
Today’s results mean Scotland now has 83MW and Wales 38MW of contracted tidal stream capacity. There has still not been a successful project contracted in England.
Tom Hill, Programme Manager at Marine Energy Wales said:
Tidal stream is leading the way in Wales. We are delighted to see this additional capacity at Morlais – almost half of the 22MW secured in last year’s Allocation Round.
Continued support from Government in the form of a ringfence for tidal stream technology and lower strike prices will continue to bring the cost of delivery down and provide high quality jobs for Welsh communities.
A spokesperson for the company said today’s award was testament to the hard work of its pioneering team.
Our HydroWing project at Morlais has now been expanded to 20MW after our successful AR6 CFD allocation where we have been awarded a further 10MW. This allows us to build on economies of scale from our portfolio of projects to achieve commercially viable generation projects.
This award is a testament to the hard work of our pioneering team and the relentless drive to make HydroWing competitive. It further enhances our expansion in Anglesey and our commitment to develop the project in partnership with Morlais Mentor Mon to allow the site to reach its full potential and provide economic growth and benefit to Anglesey.
Spokesperson, Inyanga Marine Energy Group
Morlais welcomed the announcement.
John Idris Jones, Chair of Menter Môn Morlais, said: We are pleased that HydroWing has been allocated additional Megawatts at Morlais and signals that we are headed in the right direction. We are still at the start of our journey and see today’s news as an important step forward as we grow the project to its full potential.
Morlais is unique – we are locally owned and have been driven from day one by an ambition to ensure benefits for Ynys Môn and north Wales – bringing business and employment opportunities, as well as environmental gains. By working with our developers, we have the potential to attract over £50 million of investment to the area, this has always been central to our plans.
Despite the success for tidal stream, today’s results show no contracts were awarded to Welsh floating offshore wind (FLOW) projects. However, there was more success for the technology than in 2023, with Flotation Energy and Vårgrønn‘s Green Volt project scooping the entire floating wind allocation.
The pioneering project aims to be the first commercial-scale floating offshore wind farm in Europe, delivering electrification and decarbonisation of oil and gas platforms and power to the UK grid.
Charlie Allen, Floating Offshore Wind Project Manager, Marine Energy Wales said:
Today’s results represent a win for FLOW in the UK. Green Volt is set to be the largest floating wind farm in the world, with up to 35 turbines providing hundreds of megawatts of renewable energy.
But for Wales and the Celtic Sea, time is running out. To be able to compete with pioneering projects like Green Volt and the ever-evolving Scottish supply chain, we need to see Welsh projects in the water, and without the deployment of test and demonstration projects, we will not maximise the social and economic benefits for Wales.
The current CfD mechanism is not fit to support these early-stage innovation projects.
HydroWing is located at Morlais on Anglesey, and the project is expected to be deployed in 2027 / 2028. At the beginning of this year, the project’s parent company Inyanga Marine Energy Group relocated its headquarters to North Wales and transferred their Tocardo turbine business, which is co-owned by QED Naval, from the Netherlands to Anglesey.
Morlais, run by social enterprise Menter Môn, is the largest consented tidal energy project of its type in Europe, spanning 35km2 of seabed.
Marine Energy Wales members Magallanes also secured 3MW of tidal stream capacity in Scotland, in addition to the 3MW they secured at Morlais in 2023.
Richard Arnold, Policy Director at the UK Marine Energy Council, said today’s results mean the UK is on track to have over 130MW of tidal stream capacity in its waters by 2029.
Richard Arnold, Policy Director of the MEC, responded to today’s announcement:
These results represent an important step forward for the tidal stream industry. These projects will provide entirely predictable renewable energy and a critical service to the UK energy system.
The tidal stream ringfence has provided a clear route to market, supporting the industry to grow, create jobs and secure investment into UK supply chains. Maintaining and increasing the size of the ringfence in future rounds will ensure the UK continues to lead in developing, deploying, and exporting tidal stream technology and expertise around the world.