Gerallt Llewelyn Jones, Director of Menter Môn Morlais Ltd, has been recognised for his outstanding contribution to the Welsh marine energy sector with an award from Marine Energy Wales (MEW).
Gerallt was announced as the recipient of the first ever ‘Ysbryd Y Môr’ award at the annual Marine Energy Wales Conference in Swansea.
The award celebrates individuals or entities whose passion, commitment and vision have been a driving force behind the growth of the Welsh marine energy sector.
Accepting his award at the Marine Energy Wales dinner Gerallt thanked MEW.
He said:
“It has genuinely been a privilege to work in this industry over the past ten years. There are some remarkable people in it and I’m amazed at the talent and the commitment of people in our development community.
“Nobody achieves anything on their own, and that’s why I want to dedicate this award to the people and team who I’ve worked closely together with for a long period of time – all people I’ve learnt a great deal from.
“We’ve had an enormous amount of support from our stakeholders and I hope I can safely say that we have made good use of the funding we have been awarded over the years, and that’s what we fully intend to continue to do.”
An Anglesey native, passionate Welshman and former schoolteacher, Gerallt established Menter Môn in 1995. In June 2014, through Menter Môn he secured the lease from The Crown Estate for a 35km2 area of seabed, now known as Morlais, off the west coast of Holy Island. Morlais is the largest consented tidal energy scheme in Europe and is widely seen as a unique model within the sector, providing tidal energy developers with the consent and infrastructure they need to supply electricity to the grid on a commercial scale.
Once operational, Morlais has the potential to generate up to 240MW of electricity, with the first tidal energy devices expected to be deployed at sea in 2026.
Tom Hill, Programme Manager at Marine Energy Wales added:
“Gerallt’s passion and commitment to Wales and harnessing its potential is truly inspirational to us all at MEW. The Morlais project, thanks to Gerallt’s unwavering efforts, has positioned Wales as a global leader in tidal energy, provided a blueprint for developers and the future of the industry, and created a platform for the local area to benefit both economically and environmentally. We are thrilled to be able to take this opportunity to thank Gerallt for his hard work and commitment over the years.”
