North Wales Tidal Energy (NWTE) has plans for building a tidal lagoon project that would span from Landudno to Prestatyn, North Wales, UK.
The tidal impoundment would consist of a bund wall stretching from the coast, out to sea then back to land such that the wall can contain and store a huge volume of water brought by the tide.
The bund wall would contain concrete bays to hold water turbines and sluice gates needed to optimise power generation from the tides, NWTE states on their website.
The benefits that would arise from building the North Wales Tidal Energy project in addition to clean and renewable energy, the company said, would include coastal protection from the floods, as well as significant economic benefits, as the design, construction and support of a tidal impoundment of the size and scale envisaged would be one of Wales’ largest infrastructure projects.
The estimated project costs amount to £7 billion, and it would take 5 years to complete, BBC reports.
“What we are trying to do is to understand the physical environment, first of all, off the north Wales coast, so we have a good understanding of the physical processes – the whole eco-marine environment. North Wales is excellently suited for this tidal impoundment scheme as it displays one of the highest tidal ranges of the UK coastline. However, the underpinning technical challenges associated with the mobile seabed should not be overlooked,” John Reynolds , one of the directors of NWTE project was quoted as saying by BBC.
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