Tidal Power Could Inject £3 Billion Each Year Into UK Economy

By Mat McDermott

Philip Caper/CC BY 2.0

Take this in the context of the first commercial-scale, grid-tied tidal power project just being launched in Maine: A new report from the Carbon Trust takes a look at the potential for tidal power in the UK (roughly analogous to Maine in terms of tides, as much as anywhere else in the US), finding that wave and tidal power could inject £3 billion ($4.7 billion) every year in the economy.

Renewable Energy World reports that wave and tidal power would also create 28,000 new jobs and £8 billion ($12.55 billion) of exports.

By 2050, the report says, wave and tidal power could supply 11% of the UK's current electricity demand.

Given that tidal power isn't universally suited to every coastline, it's tough to directly extrapolate from the UK figures to elsewhere, but it does give some additional support for what's really the least promoted renewable energy sources—so low on the list (perhaps) that in the latest assessment of the US's renewable energy potential from NREL, tidal power isn't even included.

Source: Treehugger