A tidal lagoon could generate enough power that the demand in every home in Wales could be met. The project could take up to 10 years or more to be fully operational according to Henry Dixon of North Wales Tidal Energy.

Henry Dixon is the person launching the proposed £7bn new Welsh tidal lagoon, with lofty ambitions of powering each home across the country, as well as bringing in up to 22,000 jobs.

The lagoon would be located between Llandudno, and Prestatyn, with the planning alone, which would take around five years. However, there are estimates that predict that each year, the project could generate £500m for 120 years.

With the planning stage creating 500 jobs, between 6,000 and 7,000 jobs for construction as well as thousands of other opportunities available, the lagoon could be extremely beneficial.

Other sectors, such as tourist centres, water sports businesses and mussel farms on the rock walls could add extra income to the area, meaning more jobs and funding for local communities.

Councillors in Denbighshire have recently voted in favour of a motion to back the scheme in principle with North Wales Tidal Energy striving for funding from both the Welsh and UK governments.

The UK government would have the last say on the scheme due to it being considered a National Strategic Infrastructure project.

Of course, there will be questions and concerns that are caused throughout the planning process, however, with so many benefits available, it could be truly transformational for north Wales.

In one year alone, the project could generate five tera-watt hours of power. This amount could facilitate one million homes, with some forecasts stating the lagoon could generate enough electricity for every home in Wales.

Serious private investments could be attracted by the lagoon, such as sovereign funds, insurance companies, institutional funds and pension companies that have already issued their interest in the tidal lagoon.

Meanwhile, the main issue facing the project is finding the first £50m. An increased focus on net-zero means that the UK must consider new technologies as energy prices continue to reach record highs.
Recently, homes have been hit hard with increasing energy bills and more price cap warnings. However, there is hope thanks to sites like Energy Solutions, where households in the UK have easy access to find the cheapest energy deals on the market.

An example of hydropower close to home is the MeyGen project. This project is the largest planned tidal stream in the world and it is located between Scotland’s northernmost coast and the uninhabited island of Stroma.

Here, you will find some of the UK’s fastest flowing waters, with millions of tonnes of water flowing between the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean every day.

There is plenty of potential around us, but the government has to act now to take full advantage.