The Resource

The Pembrokeshire coast has a significant wave and tidal stream climate. Waves around St Brides Bay, Carmarthen Bay and Freshwater West have a mean power of up to 20kW per metre of wave crest. SW approaches have wave power in excess of this amount. A study of the marine resource in Pembrokeshire was performed in 2006 by PMSS on behalf of the WDA. They concluded Pembrokeshire had the highest concentration of wave resource (700 km²) in Wales equating to an indicative capacity of up to 5600MW providing a significant opportunity for development of the industry. Tidal streams around the west of Ramsey Island and within Ramsey Sound can reach up to 4ms^-1. PMSS identified approx 2km² with an indicative capacity of ~150MW. A video given at the Pembrokeshire MRE seminar on the potential wave resource can be seen below.

This resource along with onshore support services and skills, grid connection, data, research and collaboration has seen a number of companies wishing to deploy devices off the coastline. More information about them can be found using the Projects tab.

The Marine Renewable Energy Strategic Framework for Wales

The Marine Renewable Energy Strategic Framework for Wales (MRESF) is now complete and shows the wave and tidal resource of Welsh  territorial waters within the context of differing levels of development constraints. The information is held within a web based GIS system and offers developers and planners a useful tool to view resource and potential project constraints. For more information click here.

The UK Marine Renewable Energy Atlas

A project commissioned by DECC to map the UK Marine Renewable Energy Resources was completed in 2004. A consortium led by ABP Marine Environmental Research (ABPmer) which included the providers of major marine data holdings, provided the renewables sector with an Atlas that indicated areas potentially suitable for the future deployment of renewable energy technologies – wind, wave and tidal.

In 2008, an online, interactive webGIS version of the UK Marine Renewable Energy Resources Atlas with improved underlying resource datasets was launched. The latest Atlas represents the most detailed description of potential marine energy resources completed to date using the best source of wave, tide and offshore wind information available across the UK Continental Shelf. To view the webGIS version click here.

A number of Welsh university research projects are also modeling the resource in area of Pembrokeshire at a higher level. Click here for more details.

Marine Renewables – 10 – Hans Christian Soerensen European Wave Energy Association from PCF Vimeo