Potential economic effects of Swansea Tidal Lagoon

On 9 June 2015 planning consent was given for what the Government described as ‘the world’s first Tidal Lagoon’ for generating energy in Swansea Bay. The application, made by Tidal Lagoon Power (TLP), was to construct a man-made, energy-generating tidal Lagoon, with a 240MW (megawatt) nominal rated capacity averaging 14 hours of generation every day.

Construction of the Tidal Lagoon would be a major infrastructure project with overall estimated costs for the project of £1 billion. Funding has been and is being sought from private investment. The project has requested a strike price of £168/MWH for 35 years.

Negotiations for this price are currently ongoing with the Department of Energy and Climate Change and on 10 February 2016, the Government announced an independent review into the feasibility of Tidal Lagoon energy in the UK. The review is expected to report in autumn 2016.

Benefits expected from the Lagoon include the creation of over 2,800 construction jobs as well as up to 40 permanent roles in tourism related industries.