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Morlais is a grid connected Tidal power project located in the Irish Sea just off the west coast of Holy Island, Anglesey, Wales (Welsh language: Ynys Cybi, Ynys Môn, Cymru). It is being developed by the social enterprise agency Menter Môn. The site has the potential for up to 240 MW of renewable energy to be harnessed from the tides, using a mixture of seabed mounted and floating tidal energy devices from different companies.
The site was designated for tidal energy by The Crown Estate in 2010, as the West Anglesey Demonstration Zone, and has been leased for 45 years. Consent for the scheme was obtained in December 2021 from Natural Resources Wales. The scheme was awarded £31m from the European Regional Development Fund in March 2022, possibly the last significant project from this fund. Following this, construction started in 2022, with phased installation so that any environmental impacts could be understood.
The first devices to harvest power from the tides are expected to be installed in 2026. Before then, preparatory works including the grid connection are being constructed. Mark Drakeford officially opened the onshore substation in October 2023, noting that "Morlais is a groundbreaking project and a key part of our transition to a low carbon economy". In February 2025, it was announced the Welsh Government had invested £8 million for an equity stake in the project. These funds will be used to improve the grid capacity at Parc Cybi, Holyhead.
RSPB Cymru expressed concerns about the scheme's potential impacts on wildlife, including guillemots and razorbills. An environmental impact assessment was completed, with detailed independent studies on various aspects of the project construction, operation, and decommissioning. Environmental surveys are still ongoing, with a monitoring buoy equipped with cameras and other sensors deployed in July 2023, as part of the Marine Characterisation Research Project.
The onshore grid connection work was completed by civil engineering firm Jones Bros in June 2023, three months ahead of schedule. Work to upgrade the grid connection from 18 MW to 240 MW commenced in July 2025, this is also being undertaken by Jones Bros. The £16m Cydnerth project (Welsh language for resilience) will connect the Morlais substation at Ynys Lawd (South Stack) to the National Grid at Parc Cybi.
The tidal site covers an area of approximately 35 km2, situated between approximately 0.5 km and 6 km offshore. The water depth across the site is around 40 m on average, reaching 72 m LAT to the northwest of the site. The site can be classified as an isolated/quiet environment, with a mixture of soft and hard bottom.
Modelling of the area around the site shows mean depth-averaged velocities of 1.7 m/s (3.3 knots) and peaks of 3.7 m/s (7.2 knots). Across most of the site, ebb and flood tides are misaligned by 0° to 15°, which may have a small impact on turbine performance.
In September 2024, the Environmental Monitoring and Mitigation Plan (EMMP) for the site was approved by Natural Resources Wales, discharging one of the planning conditions. The EMMP was developed by Menter Môn, together with environmental stakeholders, within the Marine Characterisation Research Project (MCRP). Environmental baseline data collected within the MCRP will be made available through the Crown Estate’s Marine Data Exchange platform.
In June 2024, Inyanga and Verdant Morlais announced they would collaborate in their projects at Morlais, to help unlock economies of scale and potentially reduce costs.
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