Hendry deems tidal lagoon ‘affordable’

The proposed Swansea Bay tidal lagoon project will be supported in a review report of tidal lagoon energy to be published later today.

The results of the review into the viability of the tidal lagoon industry in the UK will be published today, January 12, 2017, and according to BBC, the plans to construct 320MW Swansea Bay tidal lagoon will be supported.

The review, commissioned by the UK governemnt in February 2016, was led by the former UK energy minister, Charles Hendry.

“If you look at the cost spread out over the entire lifetime – 120 years for the project – it comes out at about 30p per household for the next 30 years. That’s where I think we can start a new industry and we can do it at an affordable cost to consumers,” Hendry said for BBC ahead of releasing the report.

The review considered whether, and in what circumstances, tidal lagoons could play a cost effective role as part of the UK energy mix, the scale of potential opportunities in the UK and internationally, as well as range of possible structures for financing tidal lagoons.

The £1.3 billion Swansea Bay tidal lagoon project has a design life of 120 years and a net annual power output of 400GWh. It is expected to power around 155,000 homes, or over 90% of homes in the Swansea area.