By K.Steiner-Dicks on Mar 25, 2014

The centre is being set up to allow prototype energy turbines to be installed off St Catherine's Point. However, the centre has not been without its critics, according to a BBC online report, fishermen and business owners in Ventnor oppose the centre and claim it will damage shellfish beds.

The company behind PTEC is Perpetuus Tidal Energy Centre, a consortium which includes: Perpetuus Energy Limited, an Island based, clean energy company; The Isle of Wight Council; TB Partners, a corporate advisory and project development company specialising in the clean technology sector; Royal Haskoning DHV, an engineering and environmental consultancy; and IT Power, a renewable energy engineering and project design company.

The centre is planned to lie about 1.5 miles (2.5km) off St Catherine's Point and would produce between 20MW and 30MW of tidal-based energy for the Isle of Wight grid, enough to power between 10,000 and 15,000 homes.

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the project is currently underway, led by Royal HaskoningDHV. This will form part of the consent application which PTEC Ltd will submit in the fourth quarter of 2014.

According to PTEC a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) study is also being undertaken for the centre by renewable energy specialists IT Power, and will be completed early in 2014. The FEED study will help PTEC Ltd to decide on a number of design and technology details which can then be assessed during the EIA process.

Marine mammal and seabird surveys are ongoing using the Mabel Alice survey vessel. These surveys will continue until July 2014.

Previously known as the Solent Ocean Energy Centre (SOEC), the centre changed its name to Perpetuus Tidal Energy Centre in 2013.