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GUERNSEY Electricity is to carry out a detailed submarine survey that will help put the Bailiwick at the forefront of tidal power generation.

The survey work, which begins today, will gather information that could be used by developers interested in siting turbine projects in local waters. Crucially, it will provide a detailed survey of the seabed and tidal flows, to help assess if conditions are suitable for the technology they plan to use.

This is likely to make the Bailiwick more attractive to international tidal power developers, who would otherwise have to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds carrying out similar surveys themselves.

Instead, the information needed to assess the viability of any technology will be readily available to them. This could give the Bailiwick an edge over other locations around the world that can offer similar tidal conditions.

Project head Sally-Ann David, engineering services manager for Guernsey Electricity, said depending on the type of technology being used the physical requirements for the seabed can differ.

‘Whatever system you have you are going to need to secure it to the sea bed somehow, in an area where there is a fast flowing tidal stream. What this survey will do is provide the critical data that engineers will need to assess whether locations that we believe offer the right tidal conditions are going to be suitable for a particular technology,’ she said.

‘By doing this work now, we will have important data readily available for developers to assess the viability of their systems in Bailiwick waters, at lower cost than doing it themselves.’

The study is due to begin today, and the survey vessel is equipped with the latest hydrographic mapping systems. It will record data on the water depth and physical characteristics of the sea bed, including its shape, formation and type of rock, and any sand above. It will also take measurements of the tidal speed.

It will provide the most detailed picture of the sea bed and tidal characteristics around the Bailiwick ever commissioned. This will cover an area of around 100 square kilometres, and include locations in the Little Russell, Big Russell, along the South Coast of Guernsey, and around Sark.

As well as mapping the sea bed, the study will also provide valuable information for planning submarine cable connections required to bring the power ashore.

In all, the survey work is expected to last about six weeks, and the results should be available by the end of the year. More detailed tidal measurements will be undertaken at locations identified by the survey.

In 2004, Guernsey Electricity invested £250,000 in Marine Current Turbines, a UK firm which is behind the world’s first commercial scale tidal power project.

Its SeaGen device was installed in Strangford Lough, near Belfast, in April, and is now connected to the Northern Ireland grid. It is due to be commissioned later this year, and once fully operational will be able to generate clean, green electricity for up to 1,000 homes.