Developer of the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon, Tidal Lagoon Power Ltd, has completed testing of its two-dimensional physical model at HR Wallingford in Oxfordshire.
A section of bund wall has been constructed to scale in a 1.2-metre deep flume at HR Wallingford, where the stability of rock armour was tested under various design conditions and with different combinations of water levels and wave heights, including wave overtopping and sea level rises resulting from climate change. To ensure that the final design structure is optimised for long-term stability and safety, the company also measured the impact of storm waters.
Ton Fijen, Engineering Director for Tidal Lagoon Power Limited explains: “The Severn Estuary holds the second highest tidal range in the world and within this Swansea Bay benefits from an average tidal range during spring tides of 8.5m.This tidal range offers significant potential for the extraction of renewable energy through the construction of tidal lagoons and is an exciting opportunity for Wales and the UK with the potential for over 10,000 MW of power from a series of five coastal tidal lagoons.”
Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon is expected to be connected to the grid in 2018, and it will provide clean electricity for more than 120,000 homes, for over 120 years. Although the project is the first of its kind, all of its components have been proven elsewhere in the world, to lower the technology risk.
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Press release, January 27, 2014; Image: tidallagoonswanseabay