News Wales > Environment > Swansea tidal energy = project gets backing

Swansea tidal energy project gets = backing

13/10/2004

Plans for a pioneering tidal energy project in Swansea Bay have = been=20 detailed and confirmed by an independent report from leading = engineering=20 firm, WS Atkins Engineering.

The tidal lagoon technology = has also=20 been backed by environmental campaigners, who welcomed the Atkin?s = study=20 but warned that continued reticence from the DTI in supporting the = concept=20 could result in the UK once more lagging behind rather than = leading the=20 world in this new environmental technology.

The report = shows that=20 the low-head hydroelectric technology, developed by Tidal Electric = Limited, is ready to make a huge contribution to the government?s = 2010=20 emissions reduction and will be the UK?s most competitive = renewable power=20 source producing electricity at 3.4p per kilowatt-hour from the = relatively=20 small (60 MW) Swansea Bay project.

Larger lagoons offer = costs less=20 than 3p due to the concept?s strong economies of scale. Tidal = power is as=20 predictable as the tides and can help balance some of the UK?s = less=20 predictable renewable energy sources while protecting vulnerable=20 coastlines from further erosion.

Tidal Electric have = targeted the=20 UK for its initial installations but have added development teams = in China=20 and Canada. The Chinese government has reviewed this technology = and given=20 its approval to build a 300 MW project, the world?s largest. A = Chinese=20 delegation including the Governor of Liaoning Province (pop. 50.2 = million)=20 is travelling to New York to sign a consent agreement and to = provide 80%=20 loan finance from the Chinese government. The Canadian team is=20 investigating sites in the Bay of Fundy.

Tidal Electric = Limited=20 Chairman Peter W. Ullman said, ?Tidal lagoons are ready to = contribute to=20 meeting 2010 targets for emissions reduction by producing = commercial=20 amounts of predictable renewable power?

?Atkins confirms = that tidal=20 lagoons use conventional power generation equipment and marine=20 construction techniques and pose no unusual challenges. We hope = that=20 electricity providers, the National grid, and government will be = cheered=20 by this news that another reliable renewable technology is now = ready for=20 deployment thereby adding to the mix of immediately available = renewable=20 technologies.?

Friends of the Earth Executive Director, = Tony=20 Juniper said, ?The fight against global climate change will = require lots=20 of new sources of renewable energy and the positive results from = the=20 Atkins studies indicate that Tidal Electric has been giving a = straight=20 story on its costs all along.?

?The lack of DTI recognition = of the=20 tidal lagoon concept has resulted in several years of delay when = the UK=20 could have been world leaders of this innovative idea. The DTI = must move=20 tidal lagoons forward in its priorities and support this = technology now,=20 where environmentally acceptable, alongside wind, solar, wave and = biomass=20 energy sources, rather than keeping lagoons in the 2020 basket of = far-off=20 experimental technologies."

The Tidal Lagoon, built of = loose rock,=20 sand, and gravel, holds water at high tide and creates power by = releasing=20 that water back to the open sea at low tide through conventional=20 hydroelectric turbines and then repeating the cycle at high tide = by=20 refilling the lagoon. The technology is a new approach to tidal = power=20 conversion, which does not have the environmental or economic = problems of=20 the tidal barrage.

Tidal lagoons will have benign or = minimal=20 impacts on marine environment and will foster biodiversity by = creating new=20 habitats for fish, birds and marine wildlife. Situated a mile or = more out=20 to sea, the structures have a low profile and look like a rocky = shoreline=20 or island.

The successful outcome of the independent report = means=20 that Tidal Electric is looking forward to securing planning = consent for=20 the project.

Source: Friends of the Earth Cymru

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