Swansea tidal lagoon project given go-ahead by independent government review
A £1.3bn tidal lagoon energy project in Swansea has been given the go-ahead by an independent government commission review.
Former energy minister Charles Hendry said in his report: “The evidence is clear that tidal lagoons can play a cost effective role in the UK's energy mix and there is considerable value in a small (less than 500 megawatts) pathfinder project.
Hendry, who has been studying the project’s viability since early 2016, said that a lagoon world bring “significant economic opportunity” for Wales.
The project, to build a 9.5km sea wall in Swansea Bay, would be built by Tidal Lagoon Power in 2018, will take four years to complete and is expected last around 120 years.
The government still needs to approve to approve the plans.
The report found that the potential impact on customer bills of large scale tidal lagoons appeared to be attractive in the long term, especially when compared to nuclear power.
A tidal power authority would also need to be established to oversee the industry and there would need to be continued monitoring on the impact of tidal power on the environment.
Dr Jenifer Baxter, head of energy and environment at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, welcomed the recommendations of the Hendry review.
She said: “The tidal lagoons programme offers Wales and the UK a great opportunity to become a global leader in this form of renewable power generation. The project at Swansea will enable greater knowledge and understanding of the role tidal power can play in our distributed energy systems.
“The support of the Swansea tidal scheme could create new opportunities for turbine, efficiency and design innovations as well as connecting this power source to storage solutions, such as cryogenic or new localised transport infrastructure.”