AI eyes will watch over seals and dolphins at Wales' giant tidal power site

Tidal power is clean, but its turbines spin in water full of life. At Morlais, off Anglesey in North Wales — at 30 megawatts, Europe's largest consented tidal energy site — developer HydroWing has signed a contract with Ecodetect to keep watch with artificial intelligence. The system reads the water as it flows, telling seals, dolphins, fish and diving seabirds apart from seaweed and drifting debris in real time, so operators can act the moment wildlife comes close. The first device goes in during 2027, rising to 18 turbines by 2030 — and the same stream of data gives regulators plain evidence that the project is keeping its promise to share the sea carefully.

SDG 14 · Life below water — Mechanism: tech innovation