O n 30th January, Hafren Power – which plans to build an 18km (11 mile) tidal power station across the Severn Estuary to generate zero carbon electricity – pledged to work with all stakeholders to protect ports and wildlife.
Tony Pryor, Hafren Power’s Chief Executive, said: “We will deliver green, safe, secure and ultimately the cheapest electricity for Britain into the next century. The barrage will create 20,000 construction jobs and protect tens of thousands of properties from rising sea levels and storm surges.
“We believe this is a project whose time has come but it will not be at the expense of upstream port jobs, fish or birds. We are committed to working with everyone in the months and years ahead to show how new technology and planning can mitigate risks. We are determined to get it right.”
Hafren Power appeared before the UK parliamentary Energy and Climate Change Committee, which is examining the company’s proposals, on January 30th.
The barrage, between Brean in England and Lavernock Point in Wales, will generate on the ebb and flood of the second largest tidal range in the world at 14 metres – a potential energy source capable of meeting some 5 per cent of the UK’s annual electricity needs.
Its 1,026 turbines will generate 6.5GW, making it one of the biggest power stations in the world. It has a minimum lifespan of 120 years – far longer than any coal, gas or nuclear power station – and will probably operate for much longer than this.
A parliamentary bill is needed to authorise the project, together with an agreement to support the electricity price in the first 30 years, in line with the subsidy granted to other low-carbon energy generators.
“We expect that the price we will be able to negotiate will fall below offshore wind, and we hope close to or perhaps at the price nuclear power is currently negotiating,” Gregory Shenkman, chairman of Hafren Power , is cited by Bloomberg as saying.
“We plan to finance this project entirely from private sources, and it’s taken five to six years to get here so far. So far 18 million pounds has been spent, so there is money out there and it has been invested,” he pointed out.
Hafren Power summarises the project’s benefits:
[mappress]
Offshore WIND Staff, February 4, 2013; Image: hafrenpower