Tidal lagoon model tested

Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon will be the world’s first, purpose-built, tidal energy lagoon. When completed, the lagoon will generate a net annual output of 400GW renewable electricity, enough to power 70% of homes in the Bay area.

“We are currently preparing for the submission early next month to the Planning Inspectorate for a DCO. This is a fairly structured 15 month process, that will begin 28 days after submission, starting with representations during the first pre-examination phase,” Oriel Price, spokesperson, Tidal Lagoon Power, told Maritime Journal.

During the testing, a section of bund wall was constructed to scale in a 1.2m deep flume where its stability was tested with different combinations of water levels and wave heights.

The project will incur £750 to 850m of investment and an opportunity for Wales to help lead the UK’s tidal energy industry. Partners in the project include Van Oord, Alstom and Voith.

In addition to clean power, the development will create jobs, support onshore regeneration, promote tourism, and even foster art, sport and healthy living.

The Severn Estuary holds the second highest tidal range in the world and within this Swansea Bay benefits from an average tidal range during spring tides of 8.5m. This tidal range offers significant potential for the extraction of renewable energy through the construction of tidal lagoons.