Poole Tidal Energy Partnership

We had a good article in the Bournemouth Echo, repeated in the Poole Advertiser this week.

Not so good news was that we heard that the bid we put into the Department for Energy and Climate Change LEAF funding was not successful. This was intended as funds to support the project over the next 6 months. Looks like my midnight bid writing skills are not up to those of the experts in raising money. Anyone out there able to lend a hand with writing applications for grants ?

We are also part of an EU grant application which is being led from Le Havre university, and hopeful that that will result in both some funding and interesting exchange of ideas across the channel. Should hear on that one soon.

The work goes on, and if anyone is in Poole today (this morning), the students have organised a stall in the Dolphin Centre to talk to the public about Poole Tidal Energy Partnership, and we'd welcome seeing you there.

Andy

The selection from 100 to 10 has now been announced. Despite having the 10th most supporters at the closing date, I am sorry to report that the judges did not choose our project to proceed to the third stage selection.

However, the good news is that we are progressing the ideas anyhow, and the EnergyShare bid process has given us the incentive to form a group, to define and refine our project ideas, and to find that 470 of you are supportive of the idea. This has been particularly helpful when talking to official organisations.

And the even better news is that we have worked with Bournemouth University to recruit students, several of whom have commenced work on aspects of the project. EnergyShare funding would have allowed us to move more quickly, but we hope to make good progress in any case.

We have registered as a Community Interest Company, and launched a website
www.ptep.co.uk which we are developing to keep everyone abreast of the project.

There are other possible sources of funds which we are exploring. One is EU funding, aimed at coastal communities in Southern England and Northern France. We have made contact with several communities in France, with a view to exchanging ideas, and potentially attracting grants.

And we are keen to keep in touch with those who have expressed an interest in the project. The best way at the moment is probably via the EnergyShare Website, there may be further funds released, and it is a good place to learn of other initiatives around the country, or indeed tips for energy saving and generation by individuals.

I hope that you continue to be interested in what we are up to. If you want to contact me directly, you could email andy@ptep.co.uk or reply via EnergyShare.

Thanks for your support to our bid.

Andy

Fantastic support, thanks to all. The number of supporters for our idea has really climbed over the last few days leading up to the second round close at 5pm tonight, so thanks to all of you, and where have you been ? 448 at the deadline, which puts us 10th in the voting at round 2.

I was talking to groups of people last night about the project (drumming up support), and there was lots of interest and enthusiasm, and questions about what might be visible, where we would put devices etc. All of this is part of the purpose of the study, to ensure we balance the pressing need to generate local renewable affordable energy against keeping the beauty, tranquility, wildlife and leisure in the area.

We have got quite excited by the possibilities of heat pump technology, using a tiny bit of the latent heat that is in seawater as the source. This has been heavily used in Stockholm, and in The Hague for district heating systems for many years. So our study will look at the potential for that as well as generating electricity.

Just have to see what the EnergyShare judges think of our submission, and yes we did get it in on time, with about 5 sets of suggestions all superimposed on me in the closing hours.

And if you've friends who haven't signed up, that is still worthwhile, as I think the shortlisted 10 projects get voted upon by everyone on EnergyShare.

Andy

Thanks to everyone for supporting Poole Tidal Energy.

We are proud to be one of the 100 shortlisted projects, and progressing with our ideas. At our meeting tonight, at Poole Civic Centre, we discussed the topics that we aim to get Students to explore (still working out the details);
1) the economic and social feasability - including benefits and drawbacks
2) the technical feasability - what type of devices, and where might they be sited
3) legal issues - permissions, copyright, community interest organisation etc
4) the education and public benefits from the scheme
5) programme management - ensuring it all comes together.
This will give Bournemouth University students a real-world project on their doorstep to hone their skills, and to hopefully inspire and influence their future careers.

In addition to potentially generating electricity, one of the ideas that we are keen to explore is using heat pumps, directly generating heating for schools, housing and other buildings. This works on the same principle as a fridge, but in reverse - extracting a small amount of heat from outside, and reducing the energy needed to heat inside. The harbour is a great heat source, as the sea retains heat well into the winter, and the cooling is quickly dispersed.

We have until the end of September to put a proposal to Energy Share, and that is also the time when we will be recruiting students to take forwards the project.

We have lots of work to do to submit our application, and we will need to demonstrate widespread support from the community, so it would be great if you could talk to friends and family, and get them to sign up to support our group, if they haven't already.

Thanks
Andy

Our second meeting last night, with the University. Very useful discussion, we know where we need to head with the bid, potentially several student projects involved. Time is short, pleae tell your friends to sign up !

Our initial meeting tonight confirmed our aim to be "sharing the the power of the tide with the community of Poole". We already have interest from the Poole Harbour Commissioners, Transition Town Poole, Carter Community School, Rockley Park, Poole Housing Partnership, Bournemouth University - Green Knowledge Economy centre, Borough of Poole, Business Link, and hope to get wider community involvement.