Plans are at an advanced stage to build a huge lagoon in Swansea Bay to generate electricity from the tidal movement of the sea. The scheme will contribute a considerable amount of environmentally friendly electricity to the UK’s energy supplies. It will also be a prototype for installations in other locations. A larger scheme has already been suggested for the sea area between Cardiff and Newport.
Swansea Bay has a tidal range of 7–9 metres, one of the highest tidal ranges in the world. This large rise and fall in sea level twice a day can be exploited — turbines can use it to generate enough clean, reliable power for 155,000 homes. The scheme involves building a sea wall 9.5 km long to enclose a lagoon measuring nearly 12 km2 (Figure 1).
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