What the harbour porpoises, razorbills and recreational kayakers will make of the whirring turbines beneath the surging seas around Anglesey is largely unknown. But a patch of ocean off the coast of North Wales is now the focus of an emerging and under-exploited source of energy – tidal power. If all goes to plan, it could become one of the largest tidal energy sites on the planet.
Beneath the iconic lighthouse of South Stack on Anglesey’s Holy Island – so called for its ancient standing stones and burial chambers – some of the fiercest tides in the UK funnel around the sheer Welsh cliffs at speeds of up to seven miles per hour (11km/h). These are busy waters – ferries shuttle two million passengers a year to and from Ireland, and Holyhead is the UK’s second busiest roll-on roll-off port after Dover. Year-round, surfers and sailors enjoy the rugged inlets and broad sandy beaches that make the area one of the country’s best-known watersports locations...