Stuart Murphy, Founder of TPGen24, explains the benefits of tidal power to the environment and the economy, and how it can no longer be ignored
Green energy is no longer just talk of the town, it’s talk of the world.
Major players across the globe are finding new ways to harness renewable energy, with prominent figures such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett voicing their opinions on the subject via carbon-cutting initiatives and ‘green’ manifestos.
Focusing our attention locally, the UK is a global leader in offshore wind power, but many are coming to realise that wind, and solar, simply aren’t enough to meet our rapidly increasing demand for 24/7 green energy.
However, there is a solution which exists. One currently woefully untapped, and under-explored: Tidal.
This powerful, perpetual natural resource has the potential to solve our on-demand electricity needs. Requiring only the natural rise and fall of the tide, it is weather agnostic, with the ability to deliver a cheaper, more reliable and long-term form of power generation when correctly harnessed.
Let me take this opportunity to make the case, using my own project, TPGen24 as one example.
The tides are turning
Although numerous countries, including the UK, are surrounded by water, tidal is often overlooked.
However, recent innovation and tougher emissions targets mean it’s beginning to grab the attention of policy makers worldwide. This includes Wales, where the devolved Assembly is renewing its tidal after a handful of recent, unsuccessful initiatives.
What the Welsh government has caught on to is that, as our dependence on clean technology increases, current and future levels of renewable energy just won’t be sufficient to power it, particularly if we solely rely on wind and solar.
Fundamentally, both are intermittent, relying on the sun to shine and the wind to blow. This reliance on uncontrollable, naturally occurring events means generation can never dovetail with manmade demand fluctuation.
Putting this in context, over the next few decades, our needs will extend beyond low-carbon homes and electric vehicles to larger infrastructure, with the market size of the global smart city industry set to double, from approximately £290 billion to £580 billion by 2025.[1]
Therefore, while other renewable resources, such as the aforementioned wind and solar, have a part to play in the energy mix, they shouldn’t be the only forms of power that the world relies on. Greater levels of output are essential, and our oceans can provide the solution.
That’s why I have been working with the best minds in science, environment and engineering over the last several years to create a tidal energy system, TPGen24, which has been developed to produce power 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
According to current calculations, our technology, which consists of smart-controlled, gated turbines that drive water back and forth within multi-level lagoons, will independently be able to provide baseload, which is the holy grail of renewable energy.
It’s set to be a game-changer, not only for the way we power society, but also how we decarbonise and start to reverse climate change.
Greener energy, strengthened economy
The positive impacts of initiatives like TPGen24 are wider reaching.
For example, the post-industrial economy has hit many of the UK’s coastal towns the hardest, due to a decline in fishing, shipbuilding and traditional manufacturing industries. These communities have often seen a severe dip in opportunity and an increase in poverty and crime.
The construction and operation of a large-scale tidal power plant in these areas could potentially provide a locally-grown, new generation of energy professionals and engineers with exciting new job prospects, and in turn, provide a much-needed economic boost to the locale.
Further, it will champion our academia, and foster a world view of the UK as a forward-thinking nation that is playing a major role in the drive towards Net Zero and in getting the economy back on track.
Research and innovation activity has also been affected by the pandemic, which could prove to have long-term negative effects: the UKRI previously estimated every £1 spent on research and development delivers £7 in economic and social benefit. Thus, investment into R&D and new technologies is crucial to the nation’s recovery as well.[2]
Moving in the right direction
The UK is headed in the right direction when it comes to cutting harmful emissions and achieving Net Zero by 2050. With the Welsh Assembly and UK Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee making positive noise around tidal, there is hope for the future of green energy.
However, while there certainly has been progress, politicians and businesses both on home soil and further afield need to invest in, and show greater public support for, tidal energy in order for it to yield long-term, positive environmental and socioeconomic results.
The wheels have been set in motion… it’s our job now to make sure the momentum continues.
[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesfinancecouncil/2020/12/03/investing-in-innovation-the-rise-of-the-smart-city/
[2] https://committees.parliament.uk/work/474/the-role-of-technology-research-and-innovation-in-the-covid19-recovery/publications/