Generating electricity from fresh and innovative sources is the biggest step in renewable energy, with the recent go ahead of the Snetterton Biomass Power Plant, providing electricity to 82,000 homes, the future is looking bright. In recent news however, there are plans to build the world's first series of tidal lagoons in the UK. This is an exciting and revolutionary project for the UK and if it's approved, the six lagoons could generate 8% of the UK's electricity for an investment of £30bn.

The Tidal Lagoon Project

There will be six lagoons in total, four in Wales and one each in Somerset and Cumbria. They will capture incoming and outgoing tides behind giant sea walls, using the weight of the water to power turbines. The Swansea scheme which is worth £1bn is said to be able to produce energy for 155,000 homes. Although the cost of generating power from the Swansea project will be high, the plan says subsequent lagoons will be able to produce electricity more cheaply.

Each lagoon will require engineering on a large scale. In Swansea, the sea wall which will contain the new lagoon will stretch more than five miles and reach more than two miles out to sea. The Lagoon in Cardiff however, could include up to 90 turbines set in a 14-mile breakwater around Cardiff Bay and could generate power for about 14 hours a day. If this project gets approved, it could be generating power by 2022.

How does tidal lagoon power work?

The lagoons operate similar to a lock gate and alters the water level either side of a sea wall. When the tide starts to rise, gates in the wall are closed and water builds up outside the lagoon. Once the tide is full outside the lagoon, the gates are opened and water rushes past the turbines to fill up the lagoon. When the tide turns to go out, the gates are shut to hold the water inside the lagoon. As low tide is reached outside the wall, the gates are opened to generate power again as water flows through from the raised water level in the lagoon.

In a recent interview Mark Shurrock, CEO of Tidal Lagoon Power said “We have a wonderful opportunity to create energy from the dance between the moon and earth. It is admittedly rather expensive to begin with but as time goes on and the capital costs are paid off it becomes incredibly cheap.”

At People with Energy, we love to hear about new and innovative ways to create renewable energy and we hope this tidal lagoon project becomes a success. If you are currently looking for work within the renewable energy sector, we have a variety of job opportunities; please visit our vacancies database for more information.