The Welsh Government has launched a tidal lagoon challenge, putting up £750,000 to fund at least three research projects.
Despite past woes, including the bighted Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon scheme, the Welsh Government has said that it will not give up on its tidal energy generation ambitions.
A government spokesperson said that the funding will be used to fund research projects that are designed to “address the barriers that have prevented the development of the technology and give more insight into the benefits it could bring to Wales”.
Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford said: “Our ambition is to make Wales a world centre for emerging tidal technology.
“We cannot deliver this by ourselves. We need to work in partnership with the industry to build the right environment for the sector to flourish.
“The research will make a significant contribution to delivering a future tidal lagoon project in Wales and move the sector forward as a whole.”
Previous attempts to rollout tidal barrages in Wales have been repeatedly thwarted by funding shortfalls, feasibility concerns and political decisions.
Plans for the £1.3 billion Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon were officially sunk in December 2022 after the Court of Appeal ruled that work on the project did not commence within five years of receiving planning approval and therefore the development consent order (DCO) is no longer valid.
The project, put together by developer Tidal Lagoon (Swansea Bay), was to build the world’s first tidal lagoon power plant. This would span Swansea Bay to form a lagoon between the River Tawe and the River Neath.
The project received planning permission in 2015 and ground investigations were undertaken the year later. However, it hit the buffers in June 2018 when the energy secretary at the time Greg Clark ruled it was poor value for money and pulled government support for the scheme.
Several tidal schemes have been mooted and ultimately mothballed since, including the Enlli project proposed by Nova Innovation to install five 100kW turbines on the seabed off of North Wales.
Reacting to the latest attempts to bring tidal power to Welsh shores, chair of the Tidal Range Alliance Ioan Jenkins said: “The Tidal Range Alliance is pleased the Welsh Government remains committed to delivering tidal range and ensuring this vital technology delivers secure, renewable power, as well as jobs and investment for Wales and the UK.
“The technology has already been proven at scale and this research will help provide the evidence that will unlock the first wave of tidal range projects, here in Wales.”