So it’s back to the drawing board on tidal power. The overarching review of the technology announced last week confirms what we already knew: the Treasury couldn’t come to an agreement with Swansea Bay developer Tidal Lagoon Power over the strike price for the flagship project. Small wonder, when TLP was originally seeking a strike price far above those of other energy projects – as much as £168 per megawatt-hour for 30 years was needed to get the project off the ground, according to one set of consultants. For a government that has already been battered for its proffered £92.50 strike price for Hinkley Point C, that’s simply a non-starter. Word is, the Treasury put a package on the table that was more in the region of the high £80s over 90 years. Even over such an unprecedented timescale, the sums just didn’t add up.
Leader: At what price tidal power?
