The Cardiff-Penarth Tidal Lagoon had big billing by Cardiff Council in 2016 - BBC Wales/Steffan Messenger report - but soon vanished
Friends of the Earth, Barry and Vale,
pointed out the loss of designated wildlife habitat and that the lagoon's
structure will impact on the shipping channels to Cardiff docks and Cardiff Bay
locks.
Keith Stockdale told BBC Wales the
lagoon will take too long to plan and build; other tidal power schemes in the
Severn such as tidal fences and underwater turbines should take priority.
Critical issues went unmentioned
- · destruction of a big area of mudflats in the Special Area of Conservation, designated for wading bird habitat and protected fish and lamprey species.
- · This is only acceptable in law, if there are over-riding grounds of socio-economic importance; this is not true. Equivalent mudflats for marine features and bird-feeding as required in compensation cannot be created - there are no large areas free outside the SAC, eg. in Bridgewater Bay.
- · the lagoon structure would drastically affect the sediment deposition downstream, around Penarth Head. Dredging the shipping channels (to Cardiff docks and through the Barrage) could be a significant ongoing cost, as would dredging of sediment deposited within the lagoon.
- · the tidal conditions for passage through the locks into the Dock and into Cardiff Bay would be affected to an unknown degree. Storm-surge focussed by the funnel design is likely to overtop the Barrage-locks. Studies of these are difficult and would delay decisions for 2-3 years.
- · huge amounts of rock needed for construction – likely to come from quarrying Cornish hills
The Regen (England) assessments show marine currents suitable for subsurface turbines from
Bridgewater Bay to Foreland Point (Somerset /North Devon coast) and an
area of over 40 km² off the south Welsh coast from Nash Point to Barry. The Welsh
government strategic assessment in 2011 (MRESF study) virtually discounted Severn tidal power. It did lead to Marine Energy Pembrokeshire which stagnated due to lack of WGovt funding support (though the FM recently offered £100-200 million to save the Lagoon).
The alternative Severn tidal schemes can be built in stages without the huge demand on limited
quarried rock, and bring similar amounts of power relatively soon.
Lagoon turbines preferably need operating to deliver power to match
demand peaks, and have a pumping mode to use surplus power at low demand (eg.
post-midnight wind power). The Swansea Lagoon proposal does not include
this, seeking a high price irrespective of when delivered.
------------- PenarthNews blogs critical of the Cardiff-Penarth Lagoon ---------
WELSH LABOUR GOVERNMENT OFFERS MORE TAXPAYERS’ MONEY TO TIDAL LAGOON
The Welsh Labour Government is now offering £200,000,000 of taxpayers’ money to the company behind the disastrously expensive Swansea Tidal Lagoon scheme. The Welsh Labour Government has now written to the Conservative UK Energy Minister Greg Clark offering the money … Continue reading
Posted in Penarth Daily News 5 Comments
PHEW! PENARTH MAY JUST HAVE ESCAPED THE RUINOUS TIDAL LAGOON SCHEME
Penarth may just have dodged the massively-damaging Tidal Lagoon scheme – which would have drawn a concrete curtain across the entire sea-front of Penarth, obliterating views of the sea from the Esplanade and wrecking the entire character of the town …Continue reading
Posted in Penarth Daily News 23 Comments
LAGOON FIRM THAT WANTS TO “DRAW A CURTAIN ACROSS PENARTH” DROPS ITS ELECTRICITY PRICE
Tidal Lagoon Power – the company which is attempting to get the UK Government to fund its development of electricity-generating tidal lagoons off Swansea and Penarth- is understood to have dropped the price it’s proposing to charge for electricity. Tidal …Continue reading
Posted in Penarth Daily News 4 Comments
ECOTRICITY RIPS INTO TIDAL POWER’S “CURTAINS FOR PENARTH” LAGOON SCHEME
A leading environmental energy producer Ecotricity has delivered a damning critique of the proposed Cardiff/Penarth power-generating tidal lagoon – a huge scheme which would construct a massive 40-foot-high concrete curtain across the sea-front of Penarth. The founder of Ecotricity, … Continue reading
Posted in Penarth Daily News 17 Comments
TIDAL LAGOON WILL SEND PENARTH SEWAGE TO BARRY BEACHES
A so-called Environmental Impact Scoping Report on the huge Cardiff Tidal Lagoon project (which has been produced by the scheme’s own backers Tidal Lagoon Cardiff Ltd) – says the project could :- Send treated sewage from Cardiff and Penarth to … Continue reading
Posted in Penarth Daily News 14 Comments
LIBDEM LEADER CALLS FOR TIDAL LAGOON TO BE BUILT “IN CARDIFF BAY”
The Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron, has said he supports the controversial scheme to build a massive tidal lagoon for South East Wales but seems to believe it will be “in Cardiff Bay” – as opposed to the … Continue reading
Posted in Penarth Daily News 16 Comments
LAGOON WOULD CHANGE PENARTH’S TIDES, ERODE THE CLIFFS AND MUDDY THE WATER
Penarth Town Council heard last night that the proposed Cardiff/Penarth Tidal lagoon will reduce the height of high tide, increase the height of low tide and create muddier and much faster-moving water off the Penarth foreshore. The powerful streams of … Continue reading
Posted in Penarth Daily News 13 Comments
TIDAL LAGOONS WILL KILL UP TO 25% OF FISH EVERY YEAR – ASSEMBLY IS TOLD
Members of the Welsh Assembly failed to bat an eyelid when they were told of Natural Resources Wales estimates that the tidal lagoon project for Penarth/Cardiff – and others like it – will destroy up to 25% of fish stocks … Continue reading
No comments:
Post a Comment