A plan to generate energy using a tidal lagoon in Swansea, Wales, which was denied funding by the UK government in June last year, may go ahead without public money and could be completed in the next six years, according to a report in The Guardian newspaper today.
Tidal Power, the company set up to carry out the £1.3bn project, said several major companies were interested in buying its electricity, including property company Land Securities, Cardiff airport and developer Berkeley Group.
The lagoon’s backers also believe its prospects will be boosted by adding floating solar panels to the lagoon, boosting its output by a third, up from 572GWh a year to 770GWh.
Chris Nutt, the business development manager at Tidal Power, told The Guardian: "It is becoming widely understood that there is a huge hole left in our long-term energy demands and after the latest cancellation of expected new nuclear capacity our choices if anything have become simpler – saturate the UK coastline with offshore wind or invest in groundbreaking solutions like Swansea Bay."
Tidal Power hopes that enough power purchase agreements can be signed with private companies by the end of the year to enable a final investment decision in early 2020, with construction starting shortly afterwards.
Image: The UK’s first tidal power project will involve a six-mile lagoon wall in Swansea Bay (Tidal Power Lagoon)
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