Energy futureModelling the tide off the coast of Wales

A team of engineers from Cardiff University aims
to predict the impact of using the world’s second highest tidal range as a
source of energy. To do so, the researchers at the university’s
hydro-environmental research center have designed and built Wales’s first physical model of the Severn estuary. Funded by the Welsh Assembly Government’s
Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO), it will be used more accurately to study
the impact of proposed Severn tidal power projects, including a barrage and
other forms of tidal renewable energy. The 6m x 4m model is designed to
resemble as closely as possible all the unique characteristics of the estuary
which stretches from west of Carmarthen Bay (near Tenby) to Gloucester.

Built in collaboration with
engineers from Swansea University, the model features a
computer controlled oscillating weir, which is used to generate tides of
varying amplitude and period. It has a removable model barrage that allows
conditions before and after the construction of the barrage to be simulated. It
also allows for the impact of other tidal energy devices, including tidal
lagoon and tidal stream turbines, to be examined. “The Welsh Assembly and UK
government are currently undertaking a feasibility study on the effect that
different options for a barrage and lagoons would have — for example on
flooding risk and siltation,” said Jane Davidson, the Welsh Assembly
Government’s minister for environment, sustainability and housing. “A number of
studies relating to the potential impact of a barrage have been carried out
since the proposal was first mooted. However, this physical model, which is
close in design to the actual basin, will enable us to look in-depth and over
the long term at the potential impact of a barrage or other tidal-range
development on the surrounding aquatic environments and habitats,” added Professor
Roger Falconer, who is leading the research team. One option for a Cardiff to Western Barrage would
stretch from Lavernock Point to Brean Down at an estimated cost of around £15 billion.
The massive structure could potentially harness the tidal energy of the Severn estuary and, within fourteen
years, could generate about 5 percent of the U.K. supply of electricity.