Comment & Analysis
This is a series of tidal lagoons that use the ebb and flow of the tide to produce renewable power through turbines, the first of which is destined to be at Swansea Bay, followed by Cardiff, Newport and Colwyn Bay.
Hendry concluded that: “…tidal lagoons can play a cost effective role in the UK’s energy mix and there is considerable value in a small (less than 500MW) pathfinder project…”
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers along with the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Royal Academy of Engineers championed the idea of a demonstration site at Swansea in our joint response to the Hendry review.
The idea behind this was that a demonstration project would enable much greater understanding of the technologies that can be used to generate electricity, options for integrated storage and create space to solve technological, environmental and economic problems in advance of other sites being developed.
Storage options could include cryogenic/liquid air or battery or even pumped hydro, dependent on build plans at the lagoon.
There are also questions as to whether new power generation could be connected with new emerging technologies in local transport systems.
By taking the pathfinder approach a step further and coupling the Swansea Bay project with local academic institutions, the process of developing the first UK tidal lagoon could strengthen skills in tidal and marine power engineering through education, apprenticeships and new job creation.
With better connections to manufacturing and other engineering disciplines through research activities and site development new innovations in technologies, education schemes and potentially business models and finance packages could be seen.
There have been criticisms of the review, mainly that a full economic evaluation could not be completed and that the costs of build and subsidy from the Government will outweigh the benefits of the project.
Some of those making objections did not respond to the Hendry Review making it difficult for the review to address their concerns.
From an engineering perspective new major infrastructure projects have unknown costs and consequences, both positive and negative that may not be discovered without large scale applied engineering demonstration.
Lack of demonstration sites can hinder innovation in financial instruments as well as innovation in technology as we remain uninformed about the unknown.
Looking into the future, a consideration for engineers and innovators is understanding if the technologies we use and develop now will continue to offer future generations in the UK the type of energy they need.
This concept comes with many questions on what the future may look like:
- Will electricity continue to be the energy vector of choice?
- Will demand for electricity continue to decrease?
- Will electricity storage be mastered?
- Can a tidal programme continue to provide enough electricity as conventional power stations and wind farms reach the end of life?
- Does this mean we can downsize our system more easily as well as meeting our carbon targets?
None of these questions can be answered, unless we have the confidence to invest in research, development and demonstration projects, such as the proposed Swansea demonstration project.