The 320 MW Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon, to be located off the coast of Wales, has passed successfully through the first stage of the permitting process. It has been accepted for consideration by the UK's Planning Inspectorate on behalf of the secretary of state for Energy and Climate Change.
Acceptance means that the application has reached the required standards to proceed to public examination before being finally determined by the secretary of state.
Mark Shorrock, CEO of Tidal Lagoon Power, the company behind the project, commented:"This is a hugely important step in the process that will, hopefully, see us on site in Swansea Bay in spring 2015 with the first power being generated in 2018. Through an ongoing process of operational optimisation, we now expect power output for the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon to hit 495 GWh per annum."
As an offshore generating station in excess of 100 MW installed capacity, the project qualifies as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) under a 2008 Act of Parliament.
The project will be the world's first, man-made, energy-generating lagoon. As planned it will be able to provide renewable power for over for 120 years, and make an important contribution towards national carbon emission reduction targets - the emission of over 216 000 tonnes per year of carbon dioxide will be avoided.
The tidal wall that will feature within this project has also been mooted as a solution for dealing with flooding in a part of UK known as the Somerset Levels - the area has been badly hit during recent weeks at a time of almost unprecedentedly heavy rainfall.
Howard Bassford, head of infrastructure planning at specialist law firm DLA Piper, which has advised on all aspects of the project, from planning to project finance to negotiations with landowners, commented: "Every major infrastructure project is unique, but the Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay is the first of its kind in the world and is the epitome of a nationally significant infrastructure project. For that reason, the team at DLA Piper has had to deal with novel issues, and has needed to adopt an innovative approach to guiding the project to this stage. Our team is looking forward to the examination, and playing a major role in the delivery of this important project."
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