UPDATED 1 Sept: The EI library in London is temporarily closed to the public, as a precautionary measure in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The Knowledge Service will still be answering email queries via email , or via live chats during working hours (09:15-17:00 GMT). Our e-library is always open for members here: eLibrary , for full-text access to over 200 e-books and millions of articles. Thank you for your patience.
New Energy World™
New Energy World™ embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
Welsh government backs largest consented tidal energy project in Europe
12/2/2025
News
The Welsh government has taken an £8mn equity stake in the Morlais tidal project offshore west Anglesey (Ynys Môn), ‘the largest consented tidal energy project in Europe’.
Owned and managed by the Menter Môn social enterprise, Morlais will see a range of tidal energy technologies installed in a 35 km² area of the seabed near Holy Island (Ynys Cybi), Anglesey. They will be connected to the national grid and a substation on the shore near South Stack (Ynys Lawd) and Parc Cybi, near Holyhead.
The Welsh government investment will help fund the Cydnerth phase of the project, which will see the grid connection strengthened at Parc Cybi.
The plan is for a phased installation of tidal energy devices into the water from 2026 to ensure that marine wildlife is not harmed. Morlais is expected to have the potential to generate up to 240 MW of low-carbon clean electricity.
The Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Rebecca Evans, comments: ‘We want to make Wales a world centre for emerging tidal technologies… Our investment will support Menter Môn Morlais to scale up capacity and develop an industrial cluster for tidal energy and innovation in North Wales, whilst delivering jobs and growth [and] keeping the value local.’
Crown Estate collaboration
The Morlais project recently partnered with The Crown Estate to provide access to environmental survey data gathered off the coast of Ynys Môn.
The data, which includes bird and marine mammal monitoring, was collected during the first phase of the Morlais-led Marine Characterisation Research Project (MCRP). It will be hosted on The Crown Estate’s Marine Data Exchange (MDE). Developed in 2013, the MDE platform is publicly available for researchers, policymakers and developers. Its aim is to support sustainable development of the seabed, including renewables and tidal energy, whilst protecting the UK’s marine environment.
‘This is a game-changer for tidal energy,’ says Helen Roberts MCRP Project Manager. She explains that ‘access to well-organised data’ is ‘essential’ for project developers and researchers, allowing them to better understand marine environments and improve planning and development processes.
Information gathered from the MCRP will form a case study in an upcoming report from The Crown Estate reviewing current tidal stream marine monitoring data. The MCRP is funded by The Crown Estate and Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
