E.ON, Lunar Energy to develop UK tidal power project with 8 MW total capacity

FRANKFURT (AFX) – E.ON AG and Lunar Energy issued a joint statement saying they plan to build tidal power generators off the west coast of England with a total generating capacity of 8 MW.

The proposed scheme will use tidal streams, which are fast-moving currents created by rising and falling tides, to turn an array of large turbines situated on the sea floor.

The two companies said they will invest an unspecified ‘multi-million pound’ amount in the project, which will produce sufficient electricity for up to 5,000 homes.

It is scheduled to go online by 2010.

‘A tidal stream scheme on this scale, which will be one of the largest of its kind in the world, will allow us to both better understand how to harness the power of the tides and, just as importantly, to develop a new way of generating clean, reliable and plentiful power,’ Paul Golby, head of E.ON UK, said in a statement.

alfred.kueppers@afxnews.com

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