Funds blow as tidal harvester plan unveiled.
By Matthew Sparkes

Plans for a device to harvest energy from the tide and protect Norfolk from coastal erosion were unveiled at a meeting of the Broads Authority in Norwich yesterday.

But on the same day it was announced that Sustainable Development Fund (SDF) that helped make the design possible would be slashed. The Tidal Harvester would be installed offshore where it would feed electricity back to the grid and also prevent stormy weather from stripping beaches of protective sand.

Research and development firm 4NRg, based at the OrbisEnergy centre in Lowestoft, had been given a £7,500 grant last year by the authority to develop the strategy for sustainable energy creation.

A total of 181 projects have been supported with an SDF grant from the Broads Authority since it was introduced in 2002, totalling £1.57m.

It is used to fund schemes that investigate sustainable tourism or renewable energy projects.

John Packman, chief executive of the Broads Authority, said that the work was a "great example of the sort of ground-breaking work the sustainable development fund would fund".