The £1.3bn Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project has been backed by a UK government review. The Independent Review into the feasibility and practicality of tidal lagoon energy in the UK carried out by Charles Hendry, former UK energy minister, concluded that tidal lagoons “can play a cost effective role in the UK’s energy mix”. The 320MW tidal lagoon will involve the construction of a ‘U’ shaped wall across the Swansea bay [pictured]. It will comprise 16 hydro turbines that will generate electricity for 155,000 homes for the next 120 years from the incoming and outgoing tides. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Hendry said: “If you look at the cost spread out over the entire lifetime — 120 years for the project — it comes out at about 30p per household for the next 30 years. That's less than a pint of milk.”The Tidal Lagoon Power, the company behind the scheme, has already spent approximately £35M on project development.Mark Shorrock from Tidal Lagoon Power said in a statement: “The Hendry Review has set the final piece of the jigsaw in place: a watershed moment for British energy, British manufacturing, British productivity and our coastal communities. We look forward to working with Ministers and Officials to bring this new industry to life.”Construction on site is expected to start in 2018 and take four years to be completed.
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A joint venture led by OHL has won a contract from copper producer Codelco for the expansion of the Talabre dam in Chile.
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NRG Energy and JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation (JX Nippon) have completed construction of a post-combustion carbon capture system in Texas, USA.
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KfW IPEX-Bank, along with eight local and international banks and a US insurance firm, has provided funding for a grid interconnection project in Chile.
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