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Generators could become part of Somerset coastline

8:00pm Wednesday 25th January 2012 in Somerset

Generators could be part of Somerset coastline Generators could be part of Somerset coastline

WAVE power generators like these could become a familiar sight off the Somerset coastline if a green energy company is successful in its latest proposals.

Ecotricity this week announced it is developing a wave power device called Searaser which it believes can efficiently harvest the power of the waves.

The company’s founder, Dale Vince, said: “Our vision is for Britain’s electricity needs to be met entirely from the big three renewable energy sources – the wind, the sun and the sea.

“Until now, the sea has been the least viable of those three energy sources and we believe that Searaser will change all of that.

“We believe Searaser has the potential to produce electricity at a lower cost than any other type energy, not just other forms of renewable energy but all ‘conventional’ forms of energy, too.”

The invention is set to be tested off the coast of Falmouth in Cornwall and hundreds of the machines could be in place around the UK coastline within five years.

Searaser works by using wave energy to pump water up to container tanks before the water is released to a hydro-electric turbine.

The devices, the brainchild of British engineer Alvin Smith, from Dartmouth, protrude about one metre out of the sea.

Ecotricity estimates Searasers at 200 sites could generate enough energy to power about 230,000 homes.

Comments(16)

creecher says...
9:20pm Wed 25 Jan 12

What kind of idiot thinks up these headlines? Just wondering as the term blight is a deregatory one as sounds to me that the SCG wants everyone to be up in arms yet again, so its a case of we don't want nuclear, wind, solar and now wave but we don't mind using the electricity as long as its on someone elses doorstep.
How extremely selfish, childish and very narrow minded the person who wrote the article is.

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Samej1 says...
9:28pm Wed 25 Jan 12

Exactly my thoughts too, creecher, of all the energy sources we're facing in Somerset, these are surely the least visually impactive?
Anyway, don't worry, the headline will probably change when they realise what the news feed has churned out for them...

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Dick Turpin Works For Council says...
12:10am Thu 26 Jan 12

What a tacky and prejudiced bit of journalism.

This idea does less to "blight" the Somerset Coastline than a 50 metre high concrete and steel monstrosity, occupying several hundred acres at Hinkley Point. The article waits until the penultimate paragraph to disclose that this device protrudes only 1 metre out of the sea.

About the same as an inflatable boat then!

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Garry21 says...
8:47am Thu 26 Jan 12

What a disgustingly biased and pointlessly provocative article! Is the author a Bush voting, creationist climate change denier or something?

Obviously the finished version IF it ever gets finished and IF it ever gets deployed and IF any of them are anywhere near somerset won't be bright yellow anyway.

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TJB says...
9:20am Thu 26 Jan 12

If the report is correct, apart from being a far better proposition than nuclear, it could be producing in five years time! Much sooner than EDF's nine rears which if given the go ahead will probably be at least twelve years, if their track record is anything to go on.

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mikeatecotricity says...
11:38am Thu 26 Jan 12

If anyone's wondering, the original headline on this naysaying, doom-and-gloom this morning was, "GENERATORS COULD BLIGHT SOMERSET COASTLINE". Hastily changed for obvious reasons. Shame this isnt also done for the constant stream of similarly ill-informed scaremongering about wind turbines.

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latitude says...
12:28pm Thu 26 Jan 12

I notice that's what it still says for the picture caption - I wonder if that will be changed at some point as well...

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Samej1 says...
12:29pm Thu 26 Jan 12

mikeatecotricity wrote:
If anyone's wondering, the original headline on this naysaying, doom-and-gloom this morning was, "GENERATORS COULD BLIGHT SOMERSET COASTLINE". Hastily changed for obvious reasons. Shame this isnt also done for the constant stream of similarly ill-informed scaremongering about wind turbines.
As predicted!

Yes, emotive language should be avoided whatever the power source.

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latitude says...
3:10pm Thu 26 Jan 12

latitude wrote:
I notice that's what it still says for the picture caption - I wonder if that will be changed at some point as well...
...Yes it has!

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bts73 says...
5:03pm Thu 26 Jan 12

Well today the headline is 'Generators could become part of Somerset coastline'which is well boring. It should be 'generators choking the planet could potentially explode and blow the south of england into outer space'. Yes, much better.

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TJB says...
5:15pm Thu 26 Jan 12

bts, take your choice of headline. You could have either, "generators" or "nuclear". I would think the risk of nuclear would be greater than generators!

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meekmeek says...
10:02pm Thu 26 Jan 12

i take it that the editor of the story got so much blame for his spell check errors of his other stories, that he decided to write a dramatic headline. which also epicly failed.
the gazette's stories in recent months have really failed on many levels. whichever new recruit they have taken on needs to go back to university. at least bring back stories written by Phil Hill. At least Phil's stories had some grammatical understanding and sense of what the reader's desired

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vicbics says...
12:08am Fri 27 Jan 12

We have the second highest tidal range in the world, during the spring it's also one of the strongest, I grew up in a small Coastal village, not far from hinkley point, personally would rather have wave or wind power than the current nuclear, studies have shown that the Bristol channel alone could cover 5% of the entire uk electric, but I fear the back handers is probably not as big as edf's so this will probably not happen no matter what the public wants!!!!

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Only me 123! says...
9:44am Sat 28 Jan 12

Just because everyone doesn't share your views on the generation of electricity, it doesn't mean those with contrary views to yours are receiving back handers. I appreciate it's your opinion which you, like the rest of us are entitled to but before you get too carried away, pop across to North Devon, have a look at the landscape now they've put up the their first phase of wind turbines. The pylons have yet to follow.NICE.only another 66 turbines to come.Then on a good day they'll be able to generate enough electricity to power 18,000 homes.hardly worth the effort.

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Metadadaist says...
3:09pm Sat 28 Jan 12

Only me 123! wrote:
Just because everyone doesn't share your views on the generation of electricity, it doesn't mean those with contrary views to yours are receiving back handers. I appreciate it's your opinion which you, like the rest of us are entitled to but before you get too carried away, pop across to North Devon, have a look at the landscape now they've put up the their first phase of wind turbines. The pylons have yet to follow.NICE.only another 66 turbines to come.Then on a good day they'll be able to generate enough electricity to power 18,000 homes.hardly worth the effort.
Funny, I thought it meant they believed the propaganda the people receiving the backhanders spewed out.

I bet the folks living across the border in North Devon thank their lucky stars their not living next to a Nuclear Reactor. Windmills v Nuclear Reactor = no brainer.

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Metadadaist says...
3:10pm Sat 28 Jan 12

edit: *they're not living

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