Power from the Mersey in 2020

Oct 9 2007 by Larry Neild, Liverpool Daily Post

water wheel

PLANS to build a tidal barrage on the River Mersey are expected to be lodged by Mersey Docks and Harbour Company owners Peel Holdings by 2010, it was revealed last night.

The giant generator would then produce enough power to meet the demands of thousands of homes by 2020.

The announcement comes after an influential government advisory team yesterday named the Mersey as a new source of energy potential to meet growing 21st- century electricity needs.

The national report by the Government’s independent adviser, the Sustainable Development Commission, highlighted the potential for power generation from the Mersey Estuary.

Although focused mainly on suggestions to build a barrage across the River Severn, the report also raised the prospect of the Mersey and five other prime locations in the UK being suitable for tidal energy generation.

The report, Turning the Tide – Tidal Power in the UK, concludes there is “real enthusiasm for harnessing the tidal resource in the Mersey, and a consortium of interests that might be willing to take this forward.”

The report is being seen as a boost for a Mersey barrage initiative. It follows a separate study, called Power from the Mersey, published earlier this year by Peel Environmental and the Northwest Regional Development Agency, in association with the Mersey Basin Campaign.

The new commission report includes a series of recommendations to the Government on how to develop the country’s tidal resource and emerging tidal technologies, to provide secure, low carbon electricity for the long term.

It calculates that a barrage in the Severn Estuary could supply 4.4% of UK electricity supply.

SDC chairman Jonathon Porritt said the UK could get at least 10% of its electricity from tidal power.

In respect of the potential for power generation in the Mersey, the SDC report notes: “Our analysis has focused on the issue of a Severn barrage, but we have also looked at the extensive resource outside the Severn Estuary, including the well-developed proposals for the Mersey Estuary.

“There is now renewed interest as a result of a recent study commissioned by Peel Environmental in association with the NWDA and the Mersey Basin Campaign.”

Mr Porritt said: “The UK's unique tidal resources deserve particular consideration, and a Mersey scheme should be looked into carefully.”

Last night, Peter Nears, strategic planning director for Mersey Docks and Harbour Company owners, Peel Holdings, welcomed the report.

He revealed: “We shall be moving Power from the Mersey forward into a Phase 2 study shortly and we will include the recommendations of the SDC on the principles of sustainable development in the brief.

“We hope this will result in a planning application by 2010, and a scheme delivering renewable power by 2020.”

larryneild