Developers hoping to pitch new tidal power stations to the UK government have vowed to carry on with their plans despite the rejection of the Swansea Bay lagoon. One called on ministers to set up a competitive tendering process. Energy Secretary Greg Clark said he was “enthusiastic” about the technology if it could prove to be value for money. The company behind the Swansea Bay scheme is considering its next steps. Tidal Lagoon Power’s (TLP) £1.3bn “pathfinder” project, touted as a world-first, was turned down by the UK government on Monday. after it was deemed too expensive. The aim was for it to lead to a fleet of larger, more powerful lagoons in Cardiff, Newport, Bridgewater Bay, Colwyn Bay and off the coast of Cumbria. The decision came 18 months after an independent review, commissioned by the UK government, had urged ministers to plough ahead. Other developers also looking to build lagoons have been following the situation closely. Henry Dixon, chair of North Wales Tidal Energy (NWTE) said the government had made the “wrong decision” but that would not deter his company from “continuing to develop and promote” its own plans. He claimed NWTE’s proposal for a £7bn lagoon, stretching from Llandudno eastwards towards Talacre in Flintshire, would stack up in terms of costs as it could generate more energy and revenue than the much smaller Swansea scheme. There were also added benefits in terms of flood prevention, he claimed. Dale Vince, who founded Ecotricity, one of the UK’s biggest providers of renewable energy, believes he can build cheaper lagoons in the Solway Firth. This approach differs to TLP’s as the lagoons would be entirely offshore, instead of being attached to the coastline. “There is plenty of time to have a competitive tender and to get this right – as the government have said this week,” Mr Vince said. “Swansea Bay was too expensive and it doesn’t make sense to do it, especially when not just other forms of renewable energy are much cheaper but other approaches to tidal energy are too.” “We’re hoping that the government now turns round, on the back of this decision, and creates a proper competitive process for tidal lagoons.”
BBC 29th June 2018 read more »
