Testing the water for wave and tidal potential

Wave and tidal energy in England and Wales today received a boost as plans for the first full Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for wave and tidal energy were outlined.

The SEA - which will also pave the way for storage of carbon dioxide, and further offshore wind and oil and gas activities - is hoped to ensure environmental concerns are addressed as the UK's offshore energy resources are developed further.

Speaking at the Renewable UK Wave and Tidal Conference 2010, energy and climate change minister David Kidney said: "I am keen that we get as much of our energy as we can from home-grown sources, and our seas are a fantastic asset that can help us do this - in a number of ways. The exercise I'm launching today will help us identify opportunities for new development, whilst taking into account any possible impacts on the marine environment.

"And by including wave and tidal in this assessment for the first time, we're laying the foundations for commercial deployment of these technologies. This SEA and our forthcoming Marine Action Plan, alongside our other support measures, will create the kind of investor certainty that will help us maintain our position as world leaders in marine energy technology."

The Welsh environment minister, Jane Davidson said: "This is great news for Wales. The Welsh Assembly Government has big marine energy aspirations, and anticipates utilising many gigawatts of power from wave and tidal stream by 2025.

"Today's announcement marks a significant step forward, moving us closer towards harnessing the vast potential energy from our seas and securing a renewable and low carbon energy supply for Wales and the UK."

Maria McCaffery, RenewableUK's chief executive, said: "This is excellent news for the UK's green energy sector, especially the wave and tidal power industry. RenewableUK's analysis shows up to 2 gigawatts of Wave and Tidal capacity could be installed by 2020 - enough to power 1.4 million UK homes."