Plans to build the world’s first ever tidal lagoon power plant rescheduled
Building of the tidal energy lagoon in Swansea Bay has been delayed by a year as negotiations over the level of UK government funding for the project continue.
Tidal Lagoon Power (TLP) received backing by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in June.
TLP said it had taken a ‘pragmatic’ decision to delay construction, as talks are ongoing over how much electricity subsidy will be paid.
Work was due to get underway in 2016, however TLP has confirmed that the completion date for the project has now been moved from 2019 to 2021.
TLP is also waiting for a marine licence from Natural Resources Wales and a lease from The Crown Estate.
In June, Amber Rudd MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change granted planning permission for the project and it has also been publicly backed by Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne.
The level of subsidy needs to be agreed before work can start on the plant and failure to do so could lead to further delays to construction.
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- Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay responds to RYA concerns
- Formal consultation to begin on proposed Welsh tidal lagoon
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The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is regularly monitoring the developments in tidal energy technologies, as well as the seabed areas leased by The Crown Estate, and assessing their potential impact on recreational boating.
An RYA spokesman said: ‘We meet regularly with developers to discuss recreational navigational safety and respond to national consultations on behalf of recreational boating.
‘We believe the impact that offshore renewable energy installations have on recreational boating can be minimised provided developers fully consider navigational safety issues of concern to the RYA.’