In October last year, I wrote about Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay's proposal for a tidal lagoon in Swansea Bay in some detail. There's not much I'd want to add that I didn't say then. I think it's a good scheme, and one that should definitely be built.
The company has now produced this video, which strikes all the right chords.
I'm generally impressed with the architectural quality of the scheme, although the drowning dragon is perhaps a little too much. And I was intrigued by the idea of the kelp and oyster beds; a nice touch, if not exactly central to the project's viability.
Full details are on the TLSB website.
4 comments:
It looks like Swansea Bay's tidal lagoon could be the 'consolation prize' for the Severn barrage. (Poor Peter Hain!)
This is the kind of renewable energy I can support. It relies on a predictable and unending source of power. Instead of denying an amenity to the local population (as with the wind turbines on Mynydd y Gwair) it brings with it new amenities. It might even provide a few jobs.
My one caveat is that it is being promoted as the future source of Swansea's (or Swansea Bay's) electricty needs. But it will simply feed into the 'national' grid. I just wish that developers didn't use this line, suggesting that somehow the electricity generated will be for the local population or region.
I'm glad we agree on one aspect of renewable energy, Royston.
As for Peter Hain, he did say he was retiring from front line politics in order to concentrate on the Corlan Hafren barrage, so I took his intervention this week on the voting system for the Assembly as a sign that he has now given up on it ... as well as the fact that legislation has been ruled out during this parliamentary term, of course.
Corlan Hafren never was a starter. It has always been too open-ended and vague. I think it was just an exercise in trying to attract investment from people (or foreign governments) with more money than sense. That's why they chose people like Peter Hain to "sell" the scheme, rather than develop any firm engineering proposals.
And I also agree with you about some of the ways in which energy generation schemes are described. It's always better to stick to hard facts and standard units of measurement. I think TLSB are doing this, but the media have got used to reporting things in a certain way. The BBC's statement that "the lagoon will broadly encompass the coast between Mumbles Head in Swansea and Port Talbot" was breathtakingly stupid.
I am researching this planned project with a view (as a local resident) to maybe oposing, maybe supporting or maybe even investing in it. I note with some disappointment that the current maps being circulated in the press and the one on their website ( http://www.tidallagoonswanseabay.com/assets/images/lagoon_map.jpg ) now show the lagoon taking up at least half of Crumlin Burrows and the tidal area in front of them. This being the case, I find the project difficult to support. In the next few weeks there are to be a set of public meetings in the Swansea area and I shall be going along to seek clarification on the proposals. I will be happy to report back on the "local public image".
Thank you for that, Jodysdad. It is quite disturbing that the plan has changed in this way.
If you or others reading this aren't aware of it, I wrote a much more detailed post about the proposal here. I was completely in favour of the orginal TEL proposal for an offshore (or detached) tidal lagoon because offshore lagoons can have no adverse impact on the ecology of the inter-tidal zone. However I thought the first TPSB proposal was just about acceptable because it only enclosed a very limited, man-made stretch of the shore (the harbour wall of Queen's Dock). The natural stretch of coast at Crumlin Burrows was untouched.
So I'm as concerned as you are by the change and am much more reticent to support the project because of it. If I get the time, I'll write a new post about it.
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