BEIS expresses interest in £1.5bn Mersey tidal project

The government is looking with “great interest” at plans for a tidal barrage project in the Mersey, the energy minister has revealed.

Kwasi Kwarteng was pressed by Liverpool Labour MP Paula Barker on whether the government backs the proposed marine energy project, during Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) ministers question time in the House of Commons this week.

Liverpool city regional mayor Steve Rotheram revived the project following his election in 2016.

He has secured £2.5 million of funding for the next phase of work on the project, which has an estimated price tag of £1.5 billion.

BEIS officials have recently met representatives from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to discuss the project, Kwarteng said: “We are looking with great interest at the Mersey tidal project and that the government have already funded the north-west energy hub so that we can drive huge opportunities for the region in renewable energy.”

Barker urged Kwarteng to arrange a meeting with Rotheram, her fellow Merseyside MPs and the project’s recently appointed head Martin Land, to discuss the scheme, which she said could generate sufficient electricity for one million homes.

The minister was also pressed by Hartlepool’s Labour MP Mike Hill on when the government will “end the uncertainty” hanging over the nuclear industry, which has been exacerbated by the recent withdrawal of Hitachi from its proposed atomic power plant at Wylfa in north Wales.

On Monday, former Conservative energy secretary of state Lord Howell had asked for reassurance that the upcoming white paper will restore “coherence” to the government’s energy policy.

The peer, who served in the energy brief under Margaret Thatcher in the ‘80s, said: “Our main new nuclear project is well over budget and over time. The rest of our nuclear programme is full of uncertainties. The National Grid warns of future power cuts unless it can invest fully in new systems, and household energy bills are still sky high.”

Tory peer Lord Trenchard said the govermment’s failure to publish a response to the consultation on a Regulated Asset Base model for nuclear, which closed nearly a year ago, has contributed to the doubt and uncertainty around its future commitment to new nuclear projects, such as Wylfa.

Energy minister Lord Callanan said the white paper would address the “whole” energy system, including hydrogen and nuclear, which he said would continue to play a “key role” in the wider power mix.