The House Opinion Article | The UK is at risk of turning its back on its tides

Testing tidal power turbines in real sea conditions, Orkney, Scotland (Alamy)

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The government’s recent renewable energy auctions contracted the lowest amount of tidal stream energy since 2022, adding just one additional turbine to Scottish tidal capacity. At a moment when the UK should be ramping up our deployment of cutting-edge energy technology, we appear instead to be slowing down.

The introduction of a ringfence for tidal stream in Allocation Round 4 (AR4) was a genuine gamechanger for the energy sector. It, and successive auction rounds, took tidal stream from 10MW of deployment to a pipeline of 140MW to be delivered by 2029.

Recent results, however, suggest that the momentum built in those early rounds is beginning to slip. Over the last four auctions, the contracted capacity has been 41MW, 53MW, 28MW, and most recently 21MW. The reason is straightforward: the level of support offered by the government has fallen.

As chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Marine Energy, it is difficult not to be concerned that a technology so clearly aligned with the government’s own clean energy superpower ambitions now appears to be slipping down the list of priorities.

The UK could lead the world in developing, deploying and exporting tidal stream technologies – which offer a predictability that most other renewables cannot match. Tidal stream is a reliable renewable resource that has already provided more than 80GWh of electricity to the UK grid. As we transition to Clean Power 2030, and an energy system dominated by intermittent renewables, this predictability helps reduce system cost. It provides security for the moments when the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine.

Just as importantly, the economic benefits are already being felt here at home. Tidal stream projects are being deployed with more than 80 per cent UK supply-chain content, supporting jobs in coastal communities like my own and far beyond.

Orbital Marine Power’s O2 turbine, deployed in my constituency at the European Marine Energy Centre, is a good illustration of what that looks like in practice. The turbine was designed in Orkney and Edinburgh, and built in Dundee using steel from Motherwell, blades from the Solent, anchors from Anglesey and hydraulics from the Midlands. This is not just an energy story but a British industrial story.

There is also a growing export opportunity. Last year Proteus Marine Renewables deployed the first 1.1MW tidal stream turbine in Japan, designed in and exported from Scotland.

Despite our natural advantages, this is a race that the UK is at risk of losing if the route to market for tidal energy is not combined with the conditions for delivery.

The French government has announced plans to leapfrog the UK by contracting 250MW of tidal stream capacity by 2030, with a further 250MW expected shortly afterwards. Canada is preparing to deploy its first tidal stream array in the Bay of Fundy. In Asia, countries such as Indonesia, Japan and China are expanding their own programmes.

We have seen this story play out before. In the 1980s Denmark invested early in its wind energy industry, supporting domestic deployment with strong local supply chains. That early commitment gave Denmark a first-mover advantage which it still enjoys today. The Danish wind sector now generates more than £7bn annually in export revenue alone. The UK, by contrast, generates far more wind power but exports less than £2.4bn annually, and remains a net importer of wind technology, much of it from Denmark. We must not repeat that mistake.

In recent months several strategies on energy have been published, including from GB Energy and the National Wealth Fund. Disappointingly, tidal stream barely features and there is still little clarity about how these new bodies will support early-stage investment in the sector.

Despite its strong UK supply-chain content, tidal stream currently falls outside initiatives such as the Clean Industries Bonus, the Supply Chain Accelerator and the Industrial Growth Fund. That matters, because the 140MW of tidal capacity already contracted will only be delivered if the right conditions exist to gather in further investment.

There is still time to change course. The government’s decision to establish a Marine Energy Taskforce in June 2025, charged with developing a roadmap for the UK’s tidal stream potential, was a welcome step – but a roadmap on its own will not deliver turbines in the water. What is required now is practical action.

That is why I support the industry’s call for three clear steps: a clear route for funding for CfD-backed tidal stream projects from GB Energy and the National Wealth Fund; increased funding for tidal stream in CfD Allocation Round 8; and a commitment for the UK and devolved governments to implement the recommendations of the Marine Energy Taskforce.

Tidal stream is no longer an experimental technology. It is proven, predictable and ready to scale. If the UK is serious about becoming a clean energy superpower, it cannot afford to turn its back on the power in our tides.

Alistair Carmichael is the Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland, and chair of the APPG for Marine Energy