Liverpool advances plans for world’s largest tidal scheme

Liverpool City Region’s Mayor Steve Rotherham has unveiled the preferred option for a tidal scheme on the River Mersey.

The scheme’s backers have opted for a tidal barrage over a lagoon, which was deemed to be too expensive.

If built, it would be the world’s largest tidal scheme.

The proposed barrage scheme – the “first of a kind” in the UK – is earmarked to be built between the Wirral and Liverpool.

The plans will be put to a vote of Liverpool City Region Combined Authority next week. If approved the combined authority will then begin the formal process of obtaining a development consent order from the Planning Inspectorate.

Rotheram said: “The River Mersey has been the lifeblood of our region’s fortunes for centuries – and it has an even more vital role to play in our future. Where our area was once a leader in the First Industrial Revolution, we now have an opportunity to seize our chance to become a leader in the Green Industrial Revolution.

“Mersey Tidal Power has the potential to generate clean, predictable energy for 120 years, create thousands of green jobs and apprenticeships – and all but seal our area’s status as Britain’s Renewable Energy Coast. Beyond the banks of the River Mersey, this is a national infrastructure asset that could position the UK as a global leader in the renewables race and help to turbocharge our net zero ambitions.

“We are under no illusions, we know there are still significant technical and financial challenges to overcome, but the plans we’ve unveiled today mark a huge step on our journey to bringing Mersey Tidal Power to life. Quite simply, the case for tidal has never been clearer – both for our economy and our planet.”

Over the last three years, the authority has undertaken early technical work to develop the potential scope of the scheme, which it claims could be up and running within a decade.

A scoping report which looked at different tidal options concludes that a barrage option would be less expensive than a lagoon, requiring less material and lower levels of government support.

It adds that it would offer numerous other advantages, including the possibility of a pedestrian and cycle link between Liverpool and Wirral. A barrage could also help manage long-term environment issues related to climate change, including managing the effects of sea level rise on the Mersey.

Councillor David Baines, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority portfolio holder for net zero and air quality, added: “Existing strengths in wind and solar power and emerging strengths in hydrogen mean that our city region is already leading the way in developing a cleaner and greener economy.

“Harnessing the power of the River Mersey to generate green and predictable energy for the next 100 years and more would be an incredible addition to our clean energy mix.

“We need to ensure we are extremely aware of our sensitive local ecology but just reaching this stage in the Mersey Tidal Power project has taken a huge amount of hard work allied with vision and would be a big step towards it becoming a reality.”

Earlier this year, Labour MP Mick Whitley called for a rethink of the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) mechanism, which he claims hinders technologies such as tidal.

Whitley issued the plea during a Commons’ debate in which he backed proposals for a tidal project in Liverpool.

He cited previous failed attempts to get tidal projects off the ground as reason to reconsider the LCOE mechanism.

In particular, Whitley pointed to the failed Swansea Bay scheme which was ruled out by ex-energy secretary Greg Clark in 2018 on the grounds that the project’s LCOE would be higher than low-carbon alternatives.

The LCOE is the formula used by the government to work out the costs of projects per MwH of electricity they generate over their lifetime.

There is potential capacity along Britain’s west coast for up to 20GW of tidal generation, which would be enough to meet approximately 12% of the country’s electricity needs.