For the thousands of people who have spent recent weeks monitoring tide times and checking weather forecasts because of flooding fears, it may be hard to see the potential benefits that the sea can offer at times. Humans in general, however, are increasingly tapping into the power of the sea. Tidal energy is increasingly becoming a buzz word among those keen to find viable alternatives to fossil fuel, and this week the UK saw the revealing of the planets first ever lagoon power plants.
Tidal Lagoon Swansea Proposal
The plans would see the creation of six lagoons – in Cumbria, Somerset and Wales – to generate electricity by capturing the outgoing and incoming tides using giant sea walls. The weight of the water captured would then be used to power turbines.
Ed Davey, the Energy Secretary, is backing the £1 billion Swansea scheme, which supporters claim will produce enough electricity to power 155,000 homes. The initial lagoons look set to be extremely expensive to run, but the company behind the project says that costs for future lagoons would decrease and just the first six would have the capability to generate eight per cent of Britains electricity in return for a £30 billion investment.
The proposed lagoons would be created on sites in Newport, Cardiff and Colwyn Bay and in West Cumbria and the Somerset town of Bridgwater. The sea wall needed to contain the sea in Swansea alone would need to be over five miles long and stretch out over two miles into the sea. The Cardiff project could see 90 turbines being set into a 22km breakwater to generate power for around 14 hours every day. The planning application that would enable the scheme to go ahead is planned for 2017, and the lagoons could be creating power by 2022.
