The sea has immense power. It sculpts the shape of our coastline, supplies us with food and now it is going to be used to generate electricity.
A pathfinder project at Swansea Bay is being developed to build the world’s first marine hydro power station and create a new globe industry. The project will generate electricity through the natural rise and fall of the tides.
In Swansea, the tidal range is up to 10 meters. A 9.5km lagoon wall will potentially be constructed to capture the height difference of water on the incoming and outgoing tide. When the height is at its maximum the water will be released into the lagoon (on high water) and out of the lagoon (for low water) to drive 16 bi-directional, low head, Kaplan bulb hydro turbines contained within the seawall. The head difference is created 4 times daily by the natural rise and fall of the tides.
The power output is zero carbon and could supply enough power for 155,000 homes. The turbines should have a lifespan of around 120 years.
Work is due to start in 2018 and is expected to last for 4 years, with the first electricity being generated in year 3.
If the project is a success, it is expected that more sites will be utilised around the country and world to generate some of the cheapest, greenest electricity available of which the UK will be a leader.
More information about this ground breaking project can be found here: http://www.tidallagoonpower.com/
Commercial and Specialised Diving are marine civil engineering experts. If you have a project that requires our help, please do not hesitate to give us a call on 01202 580007.
