The development of one of the world’s largest tidal stream energy sites off the west coast of Anglesey has received a major planning boost.
Expected to create over 100 jobs within a decade, the £35m Morlais scheme would see a development covering up to 35sqkm of seabed to generate as much as 240MW of electricity (180,000 households) via the power of the tides in the Irish Sea.
Menter Môn, who are behind the project, secured permission from the Crown Estate to establish the “demonstration zone” while inviting bids from developers for a commercial lease.
But before work started it was subject to a planning inquiry, which started at the end of last year.
Now Menter Môn has received a letter from Julie James, Welsh Government Minister for Climate Change, indicating that she is ‘minded’ to grant the scheme permission subject to satisfying certain planning conditions.
John Idris Jones, Director with Morlais, said: “We welcome the positive response from the Minister to our Transport and Works Act Order application to develop the Morlais tidal energy project.
"This brings us a step closer to ensuring the scheme becomes a reality.
“We acknowledge that we have further work to do to satisfy the conditions set out by the Planning Inspectorate. We will now move forward to ensure we can take the necessary action to secure final consent.
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“From day one our aim has been to make sure that this project brings local benefits in terms of the environment, jobs, training and supply chain opportunities. Morlais is owned and run locally by Menter Môn – this means we will ensure those benefits come back into local communities.
“Importantly tidal energy is low carbon, it is clean and reliable – our aim through this development is to play our part in tackling climate change to ensure we leave behind a legacy we can be proud of.”
The project has secured the support of the Wales European Funding Office (WEFO) as well as from the North Wales Growth Deal, subject to approval of its final business case.
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A decision is also expected by Natural Resources Wales with regards to granting Morlais with a Marine Licence. The licence is necessary in order to deploy turbines in the sea.
If all the necessary consents are given, construction and operation will happen in phases to enable monitoring of impact on wildlife and habitat. Work on land is expected to begin in 2021, with work offshore to start in 2023.