18 TO RECEIVE A PRESENTATION FROM NEIL FARRINGTON OF COMMUNITY ENERGY PLUS (CEP), REGARDING TIDAL RANGE GENERATION

The mayor welcomed Neil Farrington to the meeting and he in turn introduced his colleagues Steve Jermy, of James Fisher Marine (formerly Mojo Marine) and Graeme Hunt, of CEP, who would soon be taking over from Neil’s current role of Project  Development  Officer.  Neil explained that he would soon be leaving CEP altogether but that he would still be working on this project but working in Hayle from the Renewable Energy Hub on North Quay.

Neil Farrington and Steve Jermy presented an update on the progress they had made since they last  came  to  the  council 2  years  ago,  which  included  details  of tried  and  tested modelling software,  civil  engineering  approaches  and  various  specifications  for  tidal  turbines,  which previously  did  not  exist.  They  also  presented  the  pros  and  cons  of  operating  from  Hayle; acknowledging that Hayle had its issues in terms  of having to overcome the silting  and flood protection issue but overall Hayle  was one of the most optimal sites due to its location. They also explained that there was currently no government mechanism for payment for renewable energy  and  so  they  were  exploring  the  possibly  entering  into  private  contracts  with  the developers  of  North  Quay,for  the  provision  of  carbon  neutral  houses,and  /or  Asda.  In  the question  and  answer  session  that  followed  they  confirmed  that  WHS  was  interested  and supportive of the initiative for Hayle and that energy from tidal generation could be produced in as soon as 18 months.

The  mayor and  councillors gave  thanks  for  the  informative  presentation  and  asked  the  three gentlemen to keep in contact as the project progressed