Donate SIGN UP

White Elephant In Swansea Bay

Avatar Image
Hymie | 18:49 Tue 26th May 2015 | Technology
3 Answers
I accidently clicked on this link today, to find that the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon looks like it will happen.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-32874810

At a projected cost of £850m, generating 500GWh/year – will take 17 years to recoup the build costs, based on selling the energy generated at 10p/kWh; and that assumes that there are no operational costs or interest on the money to build it. Given the likely running costs, interest charges and the use of unproven technology, it is unlikely to ever recoup the capital outlay, based on open market generation costs.
Therefore if it does go ahead, you can bet the government will guarantee that you and I will pay a hefty premium (maybe as much as 20p/kWh) for this green energy, ensuring the bankers a pay day.

Compare this project with the Hoover Dam, which cost £833m to build (at today’s costs), generating 4.2 billion kWh/year – nearly 10 times that of the Swansea Bay scheme. With the added advantage that its power output is constant, not dependent on tidal flows.

Source for Hoover Dam info:- Wikipedia
Gravatar

Answers

1 to 3 of 3rss feed

Best Answer

No best answer has yet been selected by Hymie. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.

For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.
-- answer removed --
-- answer removed --
I'm not qualified to comment on viability, but I think you're on to something. Instead they should spend the money turning Swansea Bay into a massive reservoir with dam.

1 to 3 of 3rss feed

Do you know the answer?

White Elephant In Swansea Bay

Answer Question >>

Related Questions

Sorry, we can't find any related questions. Try using the search bar at the top of the page to search for some keywords, or choose a topic and submit your own question.