The study, which investigated the effect of storm surges on tidal range power, found that storm surges do affect both the timing and the magnitude of power generated. Other conclusions were:

• Flood-only generation strategy is most affected by surges - the authors suggest that this is because tide-surge interaction increases the likelihood of higher levels of water on the flooding tide; 
• An electricity forecast system could be required for future tidal-range development.

The research, written by Dr Paul Evans of  Intertek Energy & Water in conjunction with Bangor University’s School of Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University’s School of Engineering, and Imperial College London’s Department of Earth Science and Engineering (Applied Modelling and Computation Group), has been published in the international journal, Energy. It is the result of a number of marine energy-related projects, conducted by Intertek Energy and Water, including an assessment of the water quality issues affecting the proposed Swansea Bay Lagoon, a number of resource and environmental assessments across the UK, as well as metocean and sediment transport studies.

Dr. Paul Evans, Intertek Energy and Water, said: “The potential for capturing and harnessing tidal energy in the UK is high and therefore these types of projects are imperative to ensure the success of such schemes.”

Where can I read the paper?

Lewis MJ, Angeloudis A, Robins PE, Evans PS, Neill SP, Influence of storm surge on tidal range energy, Energy (2017), doi: 10.1016/j.energy.2017.01.068.