Photo of St Mary's, the largest and most populous island of the Isles of Scilly (Courtesy of Marine-i)

Research project to explore marine renewables options for the Isles of Scilly

Marine-i has agreed to support a year-long research programme that brings together three international businesses to identify the potential for wave, tidal and floating wind technologies to be deployed around the Isles of Scilly.

St Mary's, the largest and most populous island of the Isles of Scilly (Courtesy of Marine-i)
Photo of St Mary's, the largest and most populous island of the Isles of Scilly (Courtesy of Marine-i)
St Mary’s, the largest and most populous island of the Isles of Scilly (Courtesy of Marine-i)

The ‘pioneering’ initiative is led by the Isles of Scilly Community Venture, a not-for-profit company, Swedish wave energy developer Waves4Power, and social enterprise Planet A Energy.

The project will build a new databank of wave and tidal resource data from around the Isles of Scilly, including data sets on wind speed, wave height, wave period, tidal stream velocities and tidal range parameters.

The comprehensive databank will enable the Isles of Scilly to engage with technology developers to scope new renewable energy projects for the Isles of Scilly, according to Marine-i.

Jim Wrigley of Isles of Scilly Community Venture said: “Being located nearly 30 miles off the south west coast of England, marine power is a natural choice for us and could make Scilly self-sufficient in energy. However, an obstacle to this is that the key data that developers need to assess its viability does not currently exist in the level of detail required. We are delighted that Marine-i has agreed to assist us in creating this new databank, which could be the key that unlocks some really exciting green energy solutions for Scilly”.

Through its engagement with Marine-i, the consortium has gained access to leading research expertise at Marine-i partners, including University of Exeter, University of Plymouth and the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult.

Neil Farrington of ORE Catapult says: “The new data repository will be used to underpin key decisions about marine renewable energy development on the islands, which could comprise locally-owned projects as well as commercial enterprises. It could be the springboard for a new era of green energy on the Isles of Scilly”.

Lars Johanning, programme director for Marine-I, added: “This is a great example of the public sector, private enterprise and academia coming together to enable new developments to take place that will benefit the local community. This innovative databank will be a vital resource for developers and their stakeholders, helping them to assess the viability of marine renewable energy for the islands.

“This could be an important step in helping Scilly achieve its vision of a sustainable, net-zero carbon future. We hope that the project’s research approach will become a role-model that will be adopted internationally. This would accelerate the rate at which other island communities could reap the benefits of marine energy, while also helping in the global battle against climate change”.

Part funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Marine-i is designed to help the marine technology sector in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly grow through harnessing the full potential of research and innovation.