Tide and Wave Resource

Alderney is surrounded by some of the potentially most productive tides in Europe. The Alderney Race lies to the south and east of the island and the Swinge to the north. The island owns the seabed out to three miles from its baselines, covering over ninety square miles of accessible tidal flow; and is in the process of claiming economic rights out to twelve miles, covering nearly 500 square miles of accessible tidal flows.

Independent estimates of the energy that could be harvested with from tidal flows within the three mile limit using current technology range from 1GW to 3GW.

 

For licensing and development of the resource the Commission has divided Alderney’s waters into blocks of approximately one square mile. See charts.