The Irish tidal resource is concentrated off the East Coast. The tidal flow is relatively strong entering the Irish Sea; in St. George’s Channel and the North Channel. Depth Averaged Peak Spring Tidal Currents in these areas are up to 2m/s. The Irish Sea experiences a moderate current with Peak Spring Tidal Currents between 1-2m/s. Local bathymetry influences the current strengths. The tidal currents are generally low along the west and south coasts. There are isolated locations where the current is strong however, for example Shannon Estuary, Bull's Mouth and Inishtrahull Sound.
The Marine Institute runs a hydrodynamic model that provides 7-day forecasts of ocean temperature, salinity and currents. The ROMS (Regional Ocean Modeling System), is run for a domain that covers a significant portion of the northeast Atlantic and the Irish Sea at a resolution of 2.5 km.
Sustainable Energy Ireland commissioned a study of the Tidal and Current Energy Resources Report in Ireland. The viable energy resource was calculated from the tidal resource.
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Peak Tidal Flow off the Codling and Arklow Banks, Irish Sea (SEI report) |
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Viable Tidal Energy Resource in Irish Waters (SEI report) |
Tidal Energy Technology
Tidal energy technology is in the early stages of development and tidal velocities of at least 2.0m/s are presently required for efficient generation. Future technology improvements, will allow for electricity generation from tidal velocities of 1.5m/sec by the year 2015.
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(photo: Open Hydro) |
In 2006, the Irish company Open Hydro was the first company to install a tidal turbine at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Scotland. Their device was one of the world's first tidal energy technologies to reach the development stage of permanent deployment at sea. They are currently developing commercial projects in the Channel Islands and Nova Scotia. The Open Hydro tidal turbine is mounted on the seabed where no part of the structure will be visible from the surface and will be deep enough not to interfere with shipping traffic.
Marine Current Turbines, a UK company, have deployed a 1.2MW tidal energy convertor, 'Sea Gen,' in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland. Strangford Lough is ideal for testing as it has a sheltered bay and has a very fast tidal current.
Data Request
Tide height data are available for key locations around the Irish Coast from the Irish National Tide Gauge Network. The Marine Insitute also have tidal steam data from selected locations, if you require tide data, please log a request Data Requests Page.
The Marine Insitute also provides an equipment hire service for oceanographic research. The National Equipment Pool has ADCPs available for hire to assess tidal streams around the Irish coastline.