EXPERTS are weeks away from knowing how power could be generated from the River Mersey.
A feasibility study is under way to look at the options and scientists are hoping to draw up a long list by December.
It will then take a year to refine the plans to identify a single scheme which can deliver the maximum affordable energy from the tidal resources in the Mersey estuary.
A large scheme could generate enough renewable energy to supply a significant proportion of homes in the region.
Anthony Hatton, of Peel Energy, which is leading the project, told the annual conference of the British Hydropower Association in Liverpool yesterday the challenge was putting a scheme together.
He said: “We have to be clear we can justify it and that it is the right way to go. At the end of next year, hopefully we will come up with an option.
“There are some basic physical constraints and clearly a lot of people out there will be trying to weigh up whether tidal energy in the Mersey is a good thing.”
