According to Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay, the scheme is the first step towards developing technology that will help the UK government to meet its target of acquiring 10% of its electricity needs from the tides. Upon its planning approval, it would be the largest tidal power plant in the world.
The plan is to build the six-mile long U-shaped seawall, which will run from Swansea docks to near Swansea University’s new Fabian Way campus.
A team of Costain, Atkins, and Van Oord has been selected to design, build and deliver the scheme.
The scheme would to take two years to build and create 1,850 clean energy jobs. Additionally, there would be 60 long-term operational jobs with up to another 90 linked to visitor spending.
The project promoters estimate that Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon could be connected to the National Grid by 2018.
TLP submitted its 5,000-page planning application for an approval after three years of feasibility work and impact assessments.
Mark Shorrock, chief executive of Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay, said: "Until now, tidal energy has been heavily promoted by governments and environmentalists as an intuitive source of clean and reliable energy for our island nation, but the business response has focused on relatively small-scale tidal stream devices.
"The UK has the second highest tidal range in the world and today we are submitting an application for a development that will prove that this resource can be harnessed in a way that makes economic, environmental and social sense.
"Tidal lagoons offer renewable energy at nuclear scale and thus the investment of hundreds of millions of pounds in UK industries and coastal communities."
He added: "Our intention is to supply 10% of the UK's domestic electricity by building at least five full-scale tidal lagoons in UK waters by 2023, before the UK sees any generation from new nuclear."
Photo: Construction Enquirer
