Abstract: World-wide interest in tidal power has increased in recent years, particularly in the UK, where the vast tidal energy resource around the coast is ranked among the best in the world. An important part of the case for investment in such renewable energy in the UK is the socio-economic opportunities that would be associated with the deployment of devices such as tidal turbines. Domestic expenditures on research and development, production, installation and maintenance of tidal turbine devices could provide an important demand stimulus for local, regional and national economies. In addition, a key driver in developing the UK tidal sector is the economic gain that could flow from the export of tidal devices, technologies and expertise.
In this paper, we quantify such potential economy-wide benefits of the deployment of tidal energy in the UK, using a twenty-five sector computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, UKENVI.
The results of the analysis provide a new and important knowledge base for policy makers and investors’ decision-making.
