Consenting authority Natural Resources Wales has approved a marine licence application for the installation and operation of energy developer Minesto’s 0.5MW Deep Green power plant in the UK.
Located in Holyhead Deep 6.5km off the coast of Anglesey in Wales, the marine energy project is the world’s first low-velocity tidal energy project. It will demonstrate and prove the use of Minesto’s Deep Green technology.
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Minesto's chief executive officer (CEO) Dr Martin Edlund said: “We are very pleased to have been awarded consent for our first installation in Holyhead Deep.
“It’s a great achievement by everyone involved in the application process, and yet another deliverable met as we move towards commercialisation of our Deep Green power plant.”
Engineering and advisory support services company Xodus Group has provided an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and licence application for the project. This considers potential impacts on fisheries, sea birds and mammals, marine archaeology, and cultural heritage, in addition to shipping and navigation, which were concluded to not be significant.
Xodus Group's lead environmental consultant James Monnington said: “Xodus has developed specialist expertise in EIAs for renewable energy and tidal projects, so greatly welcomes the Holyhead Deep consent, which will allow Minesto to deploy and assess its innovative Deep Green technology.
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By GlobalData“We look forward to working with the developer further as it seeks to roll out an array to provide a robust alternative energy source for the UK.”
With deployment expected this year, the first phase of the Holyhead Deep project will feature a single Deep Green device unit, seabed foundation, and a surfaced moored buoy.
Image: Minesto’s Holyhead Deep marine energy project in Wales, UK. Photo: courtesy of Xodus Group.
