Creating tidal lagoon infrastructure
Tidal Lagoon Power says that its moving even closer to full scale tidal lagoon infrastructure in the UK with the submittal of its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Tidal Lagoon Cardiff project.
The Tidal Lagoon Cardiff project will include up to 90 turbines set within a 22km breakwater all enclosed in an area of around 70km2. The finished project will have an installed capacity of between 1800MW and 2800MW giving an output of 4 to 6TWh, enough to power every home in Wales.
Last year a report by engineering consultant Poyry showed that tidal lagoons of this scale could produce power at a comparable cost to nuclear and fossil fuel generation.
A planning decision is expected by early June 2015, with the full planning application due to be put forward in 2017.
Tidal Lagoon Power’s plans for the £1bn Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon meanwhile are currently being considered by the Planning Inspectorate which has until 10 March to recommend it for approval.
In addition to the Swansea and Cardiff projects, the developers have confirmed that early feasibility studies are underway for the delivery of two other full scale Welsh tidal lagoons in Newport and Colwyn Bay in addition to sites in Somerset’s Bridgewater Bay and West Cumbria.
If all projects eventually get the go ahead, the six lagoons collectively could meet 8% of the UK’s total electricity requirement for the next 120 years.
The projects are not without their sceptics though. The charity Citizens Advice said that the Cardiff project in particular represents appalling value for money for the consumer because bill payers will be asked to sustain high guaranteed prices for an excessive length of time.
By Anne-Marie Causer
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