A new tidal power device has been developed and is about to be deployed by British renewable energy company Pulse Tidal for testing in the Humber Estuary near Grimsby, England. The big feature of the Pulse Stream 100 is that it is the world’s first shallow water tidal device and can operate in waters where the tidal stream currents are the strongest.

Because the Pulse Stream 100 can operate in shallow waters, it can be deployed close to land enabling power to be delivered more cheaply without having to install costly long range transmission cables.

The Pulse Stream 100 is a 100kW device and sits in around 5 metres of water giving it a capability of generating enough electricity to power 70 homes. The device works by using high-performance hydrofoils which move up and down in a manner that is similar to the movement of a whale’s tail.

At a limited depth site, the Pulse Stream 100 generator is able to extract as much as 3 times the energy that can be extracted by a single cross flow turbine.

The lead partner for this project is Hampshire based IT Power. It is also a collaborative project involving Econnect, BMT, Corus and the University of Hull. Key suppliers are, Siemens Flender, Bosch Rexroth, Control Techniques and Leroy Somer, with Pulse Tidal delivering on technical side of the project.

When British Secretary of State for Energy John Hutton granted the planning permission for Pulse Tidal’s project in the Humber he said:

“Our continued support for these emerging technologies is essential if the UK is to cement its position as a world leader in marine.

“I have made clear our commitments to renewable energy and to marine technologies. We will be doubling the support available for those technologies under the Renewables Obligation. This kind of tidal project, if proven, will go some way to helping the UK meet its ambitious targets for clean, green energy.

“I wish Pulse Tidal every success in the trials.”