Building a tidal lagoon in the Bristol Channel could provide clean energy for 120 years, an MP has said this week.
The proposed West Somerset Lagoon, which would cost £10bn to build, would run nine miles from Minehead to Watchet.
Its lifespan would be twice that of a nuclear power plant, claims Tiverton and Minehead MP Rachel Gilmour.
Mrs Gilmour says she will soon be discussing the proposal with ministers and if the project is pursued, it could be in place by 2038 – bringing jobs and financial benefits to the area.
Speaking about the tidal lagoon proposal during a meeting organised by the Watchet Coastal Community Team, Mrs Gilmour explained: “If this comes off, it will provide two-thirds of the electricity that Hinkley Point C would provide.”
“Given that Hinkley Point C has cost £30bn and they still haven’t turned it on, the cost doesn’t seem to be a major factor.”
The tidal lagoon would comprise more than 200 concrete caissons – structures used in marine engineering – across the Bristol Channel, arranged in a semicircle between Minehead and Watchet, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Up to 125 turbines would be installed, which would generate electricity from the tidal movements of the River Severn. There would be locks within the lagoon structure at Minehead and Watchet, allowing the towns’ harbours to stay open to commercial ships and leisure crafts.
The lagoon website adds a pledge to deliver a new promenade in Minehead, along with an arts centre and visitor centre and a new ferry terminal to make it easier to visit the town.
The West Somerset Lagoon adds that it would be “strategically located on the southern coast of the Bristol Channel Basin between Minehead and Watchet to take advantage of the world’s second highest tidal range. The tidal range is over 10m, generating the maximum energy possible whilst minimising environmental, economic and visual disturbance.”
“The proposed lagoon is located: outside of the navigation channel to Bristol and South Wales Ports; outside of Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Areas (SPA) and Local Nature Reserves (LNR); where no major rivers will be enclosed; and where it will provide coastal protection against storms and sea level rise.”
