The future of tidal power... in Sidmouth >>>>>>>>>>>> >>> "The 'Tidal Power REEF' is still alive and well"

Earlier this year, proposals for a tidal reef at Swansea caught the government's imagination:
Futures Forum: The future of tidal power

The question was whether such a scheme could work elsewhere - and plans have indeed been produced for Pennington Point, Sidmouth:
Futures Forum: The future of tidal power >>> Pennington Reef >>>>>>>> >>> a proposal for protection from coastal flooding for Sidmouth

The idea has been further explored in this blog:
Futures Forum: The future of tidal power... in Sidmouth

And there has been comment:

Armstrong Evans said...

The 'Tidal Power REEF' is still alive and well. From my experience it takes about 15 or 20 years for a new idea to catch on! I came up with the REEF concept because it had to be environmentally benign or it would be a 'non-starter' in my book. 

Having had 'an unfortunate encounter' with a certain Ed Miliband (Minister of Energy at the time) who gave the funding to 'the big guys' who copied much of the REEF project, then sold out to overseas intrests! 

Anyway, despite great interest in the Swansea Lagoon Project, those who are looking at tidal energy in detail, realise that Lagoons require much more 'quarried rock' than a REEF project. 

As for coastal protection at Sidmouth, there are ways that a wave power systems might be able to produce power and protect the coast. I think one major problem is that the rocks are very soft (which causes the erosion problem) so it is also rather unstable for anchoring wave energy devices. It is certainly worth looking at in more detail.

3 June 2015 at 09:00 

This idea has been around for some time:
Sidmouth reef scheme finds favour - News - Sidmouth Herald

And there has been some serious study of the area:



Geology of Sidmouth, and Ladram Bay, Devon

Whether it will take 15 or 20 years to catch on...
Futures Forum: 28th January 2003: "EDDC is proposing a coast protection scheme aimed at reducing the rate of cliff erosion at Pennington Point. The scheme would protect the properties located at the top of Salcombe Hill and the Alma Bridge."
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