Eleven companies in line for Swansea Bay lagoon development

 
Eleven companies and organizations have expressed an interest in delivering a tidal lagoon for Swansea Bay, the Welsh marine body Marine Energy Wales informed.

The announcement follows a prior invitation notice which invited firms and institutions to express their interest in the stalled project, according to Marine Energy Wales.

The deadline has now closed, and a task group set up by the Swansea Bay City Region said a number of leading companies have said they wanted to be involved.

Some have indicated they would deliver the entire project, which has an estimated £1.3 billion price tag, but with a different development and deal to the previous proposal. Other companies have said they want to be involved in delivering part of the project, Marine Energy Wales said.

Rob Stewart, Leader of Swansea Council and Chairman of the task group, said: “The response from companies has been encouraging and we have high levels of interest from very credible companies. They clearly share our belief that the lagoon is a viable project that can be delivered by the private sector.”

The responses will now be assessed in detail by the task group, which began its work after the UK government said in June 2018 that it would not support the lagoon scheme developed by Tidal Lagoon Power.

It’s not clear at present what role, if any Tidal Lagoon Power, might have going forward with the Swansea project, Marine Energy Wales noted.

Stewart added: “We are exploring whether the lagoon can be delivered through a private sector-led development that doesn’t rely on government or local government subsidy to pay for it. We wanted to get different views and ideas from major companies, not simply a new way of delivering the previous proposal.

“While we cannot disclose the details at this stage, we can confirm some of the responses are very exciting, proposing radically different elements to developments. There is a good mix of potential partners with some stating they can deliver the entire project, while others want to get on board and have a role in delivering as part of a wider collaboration.

“We now need to take the necessary time to assess and analyze these responses in more detail before deciding how we move forward. But for now I’m delighted with the response and it’s very encouraging for the future of the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon.”

The Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon has planning consent, but would need a marine license from Natural Resources Wales, should it proceed to construction phase.