If you are investment planning in Cheshire and the surrounds, you may be interested to know that Widnes-based Hutchinson Engineering has won a major fabrication contract. The deal with Inyanga Marine Energy Group will see it build the 20 MW HydroWing tidal energy device.
The plan is for the tidal energy converter to be deployed off the coast of Morlais in Anglesey. It is being touted as one of the most significant consented tidal energy projects anywhere in Europe, and a milestone in sustainability. The steel structure device has an anticipated longevity of 25 years. It will be part-constructed in Cheshire and partly quayside in Wales, with the tidal energy prototype due to deploy in Q1, 2026.
This follows the earlier announcement by the Welsh Government of a £2 million equity investment in Cornwall-based Inyanga Marine Energy Group. This has been billed as a full show of confidence in tidal energy.
In a statement, Inyanga’s CEO, Richard Parkinson, said the deal with Hutchinson Engineering was a reflection of the Cheshire firm’s engineering expertise and capability needed to turn the project into reality. For his part, Hutchinson’s Managing Director, Steve Adams, said that it presented an opportunity for his firm to stake a claim as a global pioneer in tidal energy.
According to recent research by the University of Edinburgh’s Policy and Innovation Group and the Supergen Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Hub, the tidal energy sector is worth over £50 billion to the UK economy, and able to support over 80,000 jobs in the UK. Industry experts have said that it could bring real value to Britain with appropriate government support.
