Dead in the water: Swansea tidal lagoon [image credit: BBC]
In the end this project was just too expensive and too risky it seems. Even wind power offered better value, and without the 90-year subsidy commitment.
A decision by the UK government not to back the world’s first tidal power lagoon could have been made 18 months ago, according to the man who led an independent review into the plans.
Charles Hendry backed the £1.3bn Swansea Bay project in his government-commissioned review of January 2017.
Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said on Monday it was not value for money, but developers reject this. Tidal Lagoon Power (TLP) has requested a meeting with UK government ministers.
The rejection of the lagoon plans has been attacked by local politicians and community leaders.
First Minister Carwyn Jones claimed on Tuesday that the UK government would have supported a project like the Swansea tidal energy lagoon if it had been proposed in Northern Ireland.
Mr Hendry said he was disappointed with the UK government’s decision but he added: “They’re keen to look at other tidal technologies and that at least is positive.
“But they have therefore also taken 18 months when they could have almost said ‘no’ to it on day one.”
The scheme off Swansea Bay had £200m backing from the Welsh Government.
However the UK government said it would not pay TLP the fee it wanted for energy, although the lagoon’s backers said a revised offer made it cheaper.
Continued here.
TLP claimed the Swansea project would provide power to 155,000 properties in Wales
Have they not heard of slack water?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slack_water#Misconceptions
This project should have been strangled at birth. Anyone with knowledge on the basics of energy generation would have done this on the back of an envelope.
Just another expensive Subsidy skimming scam.
There’s no need for all these studies and rulings and fact finding and all.
The project can proceed, or not, based on sound economics and without all the fuss. Just have a government mandated policy of Zero Subsidy for Anything. Easy peasy… Private money wants to fund it, let them.
Suddenly all the $Million (or £Million) studies and evaluations and all the commissions and meetings and experts just go POOF! and find a real job. Not one that’s essentially stealing from the public.
I agree E M, apart from the ” and find a real job. Not one that’s essentially stealing from the public.” because they just move on to the next Scam, whatever and where ever that is.
Shame. The extra building land would have been useful when it all silted up.
Insane, crazy – the riddle of the sands in Swansea
By Christopher Booker 12:59AM BST 07 Jun 2015
A distinguished expert on tidal silting wrote in March that neither he nor any of his “international colleagues” can imagine that the project will not be plagued by its build-up of a million tons of silt a year, to be dumped at a site as yet unspecified.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/11657474/Insane-crazy-the-riddle-of-the-sands-in-Swansea.html
It’s baffling why this wonderland scheme stayed on the government table for so long.