News | Yare flood barrier
Yare flood barrier would also harvest tidal power
It might seem like science fiction, but developers say this cutting-edge tidal energy harvester and flood barrier could become technically achievable on the River Yare at Great Yarmouth within three years.
Lowestoft research and development firm, 4NRG, has already built a 7m-long harvester prototype with the help of a £92,000 grant from the East of England Development Agency and is to begin trials on Lake Lothing next week.
The four tonne device, built at Small and Co shipbuilders in Lowestoft, will then be moved to a site on the River Yare for further research within the next few weeks. Mark Aspinall, a director of 4NRG, based at the Orbis Energy Centre, said that although their technology was world-leading, the principle was simple - the tide passes through the harvester, pushing blades to generate power.
Their first objective had been to build tidal energy generators for use at the site of windfarms to help bring down the cost of producing wind energy.
He said: "The whole of the North Sea is very promising, because of the strong tidal flow. Tidal energy is more regular than wind and can be harnessed four times a day as the tide goes in and out."
