FC for Swansea tidal lagoon delayed to 2016

Tidal Lagoon Power, the company in charge of building and operating the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon, has announced that work on the project has been delayed to spring 2017 because the government is taking “longer than expected” to finalise a contract for difference (CfD).

A spokesperson for the firm said they would start once the remaining permissions have been secured and financial close with investors is achieved. However, the company has concluded that this won’t be possible by year-end, ruling out the start of marine works next spring.

The company is targeting financial close next summer and then start the initial civil works on site in autumn 2016 in order that the marine works can start in spring 2017. As a result, target power on moves to 2021.

The estimated strike price for the lagoon project is £168 per MWh, considerably more than wind or solar power and almost double the cost of Hinkley Point C.

InfraRed Capital Partners has agreed to invest £100 million in the £1 billion (US$1.52 billion) Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon, the world-leading tidal power station development.

The investment from InfraRed equals that of Prudential.

The project will generate 500 GWh of electricity every year for 120 years, enough to provide nearly all of the domestic electricity for the Swansea Bay region, comprising the city and county of Swansea and Neath Port Talbot. It will help the UK meet its carbon reduction targets by saving more than 236,000 tonnes of CO2 each year; and establishes a scalable blueprint for a total of six UK lagoons that could between them provide 8% of the UK’s electricity, also for 120 years.