The Menter Môn-led Marine Characterisation Research Project (MCRP) recently announced that Natural Resources Wales successfully discharged its Environmental Monitoring and Mitigation Plan (EMMP).
Developed in collaboration with environmental stakeholders and an advisory group, the EMMP is a critical component of the marine licence granted to the Morlais tidal energy project. It ensures the safety of marine mammals, seabirds, and migratory fish during the deployment of tidal devices within the Morlais zone, and it is hoped that the plan can serve as a model for future marine energy projects.
Credit: Marine Energy Wales
The collected baseline data will become available through the Crown Estate’s Marine Data Exchange. The continued analysis of the data will inform updates to the EMMP, enabling tidal energy schemes to scale up over time. It was in 2022 that the tidal energy project was to receive over €37 million of funding for the scheme.
Helen Roberts, MCRP project manager, said: “This is great news for us and is pivotal to the Morlais project here on Anglesey. Through this important work, we have outlined how to safely deploy tidal energy devices alongside effective monitoring and mitigation technology designed to safeguard marine wildlife.
“We know there is still work to do, and we will continue to break new ground in our research methods. Just last week, we saw our AI marine mammal detection system in action, and we look forward to sharing more about our work and findings over the coming months and years.”
The project is funded through the Crown Estate and Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. The first tidal energy devices are set for deployment in 2026. Morlais is Menter Môn’s tidal stream energy project that covers 35 square kilometers of seabed near Ynys Cybi (Holy Island), Ynys Môn (Anglesey). According to Menter Môn, Morlais has the potential to generate up to 240 MW of low-carbon electricity.