The Welsh Government has taken an £8 million equity stake in the Morlais tidal scheme, which is set to become the largest consented tidal energy project in Europe.
The project, owned and managed by Ynys Môn social enterprise Menter Môn, is the first of its kind anywhere in the world and should be operational from 2026.
The Anglesey site in North-West Wales has the potential to generate enough energy for up to 180,000 typical Welsh households, offering a unique ‘plug and play’ model for developers of tidal energy devices. This will help reduce costs as they scale up operations to generate clean electricity.
The Welsh Government investment will help fund the Cydnerth phase of the project, which will see the grid connection strengthened at Parc Cybi, Holyhead.
Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Rebecca Evans, said:
“We want to make Wales a world centre for emerging tidal technologies and we’re off to a good start on several fronts.
“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 through its pioneering technology, keeping the value local.
“This will further benefit clean energy suppliers of all sizes and position Wales at the forefront of the energy transition.”
