Tidal Lagoon Power today submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) scoping report for a full-scale tidal lagoon between Cardiff and Newport.
The project will have an installed capacity, dependent on final design, of between 1,800MW and 2,800MW, giving a reliable annual output of 4 TWh to 6 TWh, comfortably enough low carbon electricity to power every home in Wales throughout its 120 year life.
The proposed Cardiff Tidal Lagoon would be the UK’s first full-scale tidal lagoon power plant.
It follows the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon, a scheme developed to establish a scalable blueprint for the sector and due to receive a planning decision by June 10th 2015. In December, the Swansea Bay project was named in HM Treasury’s National Infrastructure Plan.
An Environmental Impact Assessment scoping document seeks comment on all of the survey work proposed to support an eventual robust planning application for a Nationally Significant Infrastructure project.
The submission to the Planning Inspectorate of the 400+ page document represents a first milestone in the delivery of the Cardiff Tidal Lagoon. Site selection and feasibility studies for the project began in 2011, with a dedicated engagement team established in 2013.
Tidal Lagoon Power Limited expects to submit a full planning application for Tidal Lagoon Cardiff in 2017, with a decision then expected in 2018. The lagoon will take up to five years to build. The company estimates a CFD strike price requirement of £90-£95/MWh for the project. With a Cardiff Tidal Lagoon, the weighted average CFD strike price across the UK’s first two tidal lagoon power plant at Swansea Bay and Cardiff could be between £95/MWh and £105/MWh.