The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee and the Welsh Affairs Committee announce plans to scrutinise the decision-making process for the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project.
Parliament 9th May 2018 read more »
The Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon would require significantly higher subsidies than the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant if financed in the same way, its developer has confirmed. Mark Shorrock, who is behind the proposed £1.3 billion project, came under scrutiny over its costs to consumers as he appeared before MPs on the business and Welsh affairs committees yesterday. The green energy entrepreneur wants to build a six-mile breakwater in Swansea Bay with turbines that would harness the power of the tides. The world-first project could generate up to 320 megawatts of power at peak. The company once aimed to start work on the project in 2015 but it has been delayed, as it has failed to convince the government to provide the subsidies it needs. Mr Shorrock wants to secure a contract similar to those offered to the Hinkley Point C nu clear plant and to offshore wind farms, guaranteeing it a subsidised price for the electricity it generates. He assured MPs that his project could “match” the subsidy price offered to Hinkley. The nuclear plant has been guaranteed a price of £92.50 per megawatt-hour for 35 years, a deal that has been widely criticised as too expensive. Mr Shorrock later admitted that this would hinge on a big direct investment from the Welsh government. Without it, Swansea would require a price of £150 per MWh for 35 years, Mr Shorrock admitted.
Times 10th May 2018 read more »
Telegraph 9th May 2018 read more »
Ecotricity has today unveiled more details of its plans for two tidal lagoon projects on the border of England and Scotland in what is being positioned as a direct challenge to Tidal Lagoon Power, the firm behind the proposed Swansea Bay project. Ecotricity’s plans would see two tidal lagoons developed in partnership with Tidal Electric on the Solway Firth on the West Coast of the English-Scottish border. The move will be seen by many as a direct challenge to Tidal Lagoon Power (TLP), a firm Ecotricity has voiced sharp criticism towards in the past. Ecotricity’s plans are being presented to government on the day MPs on the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee and the Welsh Affairs Committee start taking evidence on TLP’s plans for a lagoon in Swansea Bay, and investigating the lengthy delay from government in deciding whether to back the project. Ecotricity claims its rival lagoons will be able to produce as much power as the Swansea scheme at half the capital cost, because they will be built offshore rather than onshore. It said its lagoons would also require a similar government price support contract of £90 per MWh, but for 25 years.
Business Green 9th May 2018 read more »
