A new task force is being set up to look at ways of resurrecting plans for the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon, which appeared dead in the water just last month. It follows the publication of a report which said the £1.3bn project could be delivered without the need for a UK Government financing deal. The report concluded that the lagoon was “fundamentally a strong and deliverable technical proposition”.Paul Marsh, of report authors Holistic Capital, said: “We believe the project can be funded independently of UK Government, and potentially delivered as a purely Welsh initiative. “We believe, based on our in-depth review, that the original £1.3bn cost of the lagoon can be reduced.
Wales Online 26th July 2018 read more »
The UK government has decided not to support the proposed 320 MW Swansea tidal lagoon. Energy minister Greg Clark said it was just too expensive compared to alternative options: “The proposal for the Swansea tidal lagoon would cost £1.3 billion to build. If successful to its maximum ambition, it would provide around 0.15% of the electricity we use each year. The same power generated by the lagoon, over 60 years, for £1.3bn, would cost around £400m for offshore wind even at today’s prices, which have fallen rapidly, and we expect to be cheaper still in future. At £1.3bn, the capital cost per unit of electricity generated each year would be three times that of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station”. He added, “If a full programme of six lagoons were constructed, the Hendry Review found that the cost would be more than £50bn, and be two and a half times the cost of Hinkley to generate a similar output of electricity. Enough offshore wind to provide the same generation as a programme of lagoons is estimated to cost at least £31.5bn less to build”.
Physics World 25th July 2018 read more »
The European Commission has found the 14MW Normandie Hydro tidal energy project being developed in France by EDF Energies Nouvelles and OpenHydro to be in line with EU state aid rules. The seven-turbine project will be located at Raz Blanchard, west of the Cotentin peninsula in the English Channel. France plans to support the demo project through operating and investment aid. Part of the investment aid will be will be reimbursed if the technology is successful. The commission said the project promotes market penetration of a “novel renewable energy technology” and that the level of aid is proportionate and will not lead to overcompensation. Therefore, the project promotes renewable electricity in accordance with the objectives of the EU without unduly distorting competition, it added.
Renew Economy 26th July 2018 read more »
