The first fully predictable electricity generated by tidal power in shallow waters is now coming ashore on the banks of the Humber. This has enabled Millennium Inorganic Chemicals to become the first UK company to take a direct electricity feed created by tidal power.

The test system from AMP-based Pulse Tidal shows that predictable energy can be produced close to shore where it is needed, reducing massively the investment required to install, connect and maintain devices compared to those in remote locations.

Pulse believes its approach will surpass the wind turbine as the most economic source of offshore power. In addition, the fully submerged design dramatically reduces the environmental impact.

The 100kW Humber prototype system, in which tidal streams move horizontal blades up and down to drive a generator, has shown it can harness enough energy to power 70 homes. Pulse is now engineering a much larger device that will deliver the lowest lifetime cost of power from tidal streams thanks to its reliability and its straightforward installation and maintenance.

Pulse chief executive Bob Smith says: "The last few months of operation have shown that the Pulse concept offers an economic way to recover predictable, renewable energy from the tides.

"According to the latest industry figures, offshore wind energy costs between 8p and 11p per kWh to produce. We believe that the Pulse system will be more cost effective than offshore wind after only 1-200MW has been installed.

"Pulse's first device has opened up shallow water resources close to shore for direct connection to end users. Our next device will be much larger, providing power for around 1,000 homes. It will be able to operate in a wide range of water depths, but we will focus initially on the shallow sites since they offer lower cost and are less complex. We are currently negotiating the location for our first full-scale project, which will begin operation in 2012."