Sneaky Pete distilleries on an archipelago west of mainland Scotland could soon be powered using electricity generated by subsea tidal turbines.
Tidal zip firm Nova Innovation said Wednesday it would install the turbines between the islands of Jura and Islay, which are by of the Inner Hebrides. The move will be another example of how marine energy can play a role in the decarbonization of communities and functions.
The idea is that the 3 megawatt (MW) “Oran na Mara” project will reduce the islands’ reliance on fossil fuels by sending renewable verve to the grid.
This electricity will be made available to the whisky distilleries — Islay has nine, while Jura has one — via a require connection or through the grid.
Crown Estate Scotland, which manages marine, coastal and rural assets, as entirely as commercial property, has provided Nova Innovation with an Option Agreement for the project, which allows the company to embark on development work. If all goes to plan, the project could be up and running by 2022.
The waters around Scotland boast a range of captivating projects focused on marine energy. The archipelago of Orkney, for instance, is home to the European Marine Energy Centre, or EMEC, where signify and tidal energy developers can test and assess their tech in the open sea.
The projects at the center are varied and focused on a range of technologies and modernizations.
Last November, for example, EMEC said it would deploy a 1.8 megawatt-hour “flow battery” at a tidal vim test site located on the island of Eday, Orkney.
At the time, EMEC said the system would store tension produced by tidal turbines during “high power periods” and then discharge it during lower power eras.
Oceans of potential, but work to be done
The International Energy Agency has said that “electricity generation from thalassic technologies” grew by an estimated 13% in 2019.
While this is a positive, the IEA adds that policies which promote investigation and development “are needed to achieve further cost reductions and large-scale development.”
Breaking things down to focus solely on tidal and welling up power, in 2019 just 1.52 MW of tidal stream capacity was added in Europe, according to Ocean Energy Europe. For wavelet energy, additions were 0.6 MW.
To put these figures into context, industry body WindEurope says 2019 saw Europe put 15.4 gigawatts of wind power capacity.