Today, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) confirmed that it will grant the necessary marine licence to develop tidal energy scheme, Morlais off the west coast of Anglesey.
This is another major step forward for the project and it means that developers of tidal stream technology can deploy their devices in the sea to generate electricity.
Morlais is run by locally-based social enterprise, Menter Môn. The development will be located off the north west coast of Holy Island – generating clean electricity from one of the strongest tidal resource in Europe. The first of its kind in the UK, Morlais will have the potential capacity to power over 180,000 homes once it is fully operational.
Now that all the necessary consents are in place, construction and operation will happen in phases to enable monitoring of impact on wildlife and habitat. Work on land is expected to begin early next year, with work offshore to start in 2023.
The project has secured the support of the Wales European Funding Office (WEFO), The Isle of Anglesey County Council, the North Wales Growth Deal, as well as The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
