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New tidal energy funding

23 Feb 2007

The Joule Centre has been set up with the North West Development Agency as a body for supporting academic and industrial research into the area of sustainable energy generation. It's vision is 'To create an internationallyleading energy research centre in England's North West which will significantly increase the region's research capacity and activity in the areas of new sustainable energy technologies, supporting science and technology, energy efficiency, demand-side management and integrated Joule Centre assessment of the energy system.'

POL have recently won funding for a 2-year study of the potential and impacts of tidal power extraction from the Eastern Irish Sea, in conjunction with the Liverpool University Civil Engineering Department. A postdoc has been recruited to work on this project. The combined potential for tidal barrages across several estuaries together with free stream tidal turbines will be assessed, allowing a spreading New tidal energy funding Ocean Engineering and Technology of the load. However these devices may have an impact on the tidal regime of the area and also the residual circulation and water quality and this will also be examined.

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Joule Centre

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Notes

The Proudman Oceanographic (POL) scientific research focuses on oceanography encompassing global sea-levels and geodesy, numerical modelling of continental shelf seas and coastal sediment processes. This research alongside activities of surveying, monitoring, data management and forecasting provides strategic support for the wider mission of the Natural Environment Research Council.

As a public funded body it is part of our remit to inform the public of the science and research undertaken at the laboratory. Attending events like the 'Ocean Awareness Weekend' at the Blue Planet Aquarium offers the opportunity for our scientists to meet members of the public and present the laboratory's work.

The Natural Environment Research Council is one of the UK's eight Research Councils. It uses a budget of about £ 350m a year to fund and carry out impartial scientific research in the sciences of the environment. NERC trains the next generation of independent environmental scientists. It is addressing some of the key questions facing mankind, such as global warming, renewable energy and sustainable economic development.