Prototype tidal power set for Humber estuary

The model has been developed by the private firm Pulse Tidal with £878,000 of financial backing from the government and will be tested for three years.

The prototype will be positioned off the south bank of the Humber at Upper Burcom near Stallingborough. Water will flow over a pair of straight horizontal hydrofoils, 11 metres in length, similarly to an airplane’s wings but which will move up and down like a dolphin's tail.

When it is in the water the pulse generator will be capable of generating up to 0.15MW and be one of the first tidal power machines to supply the national grid.

If successful, a 1MW unit would be developed that could be deployed in arrays each generating up to 100MW, enough to power the equivalent of 70,000 homes.

The government’s target is 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.