Rugby’s Member of Parliament has joined MPs from across the country in welcoming the Hendry Review of Tidal Lagoons, which has this week recommended that the government moves to develop the Swansea Tidal Lagoon.
As well as providing the opportunity for Britain to lead the way in developing this low carbon power source, Swansea Bay would also be a major opportunity for Rugby business GE Energy. The company, which has a long history of cutting edge energy generation, will provide the turbines to produce energy from the natural ebb and flow of the tides.
Mark has raised the importance of this issue in the House of Commons on a number of occasions. Most recently he raised with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy the importance of developing Swansea Bay to GE Energy and the opportunity to make Britain a world leader in this new form of energy generation.
The Hendry Review highlighted the public support for Tidal Lagoons and the potential benefits for UK manufacturing, supply chains and tourism. The report also made over a number of recommendations, including the creation of a new delivery body. It anticipates the actual cost of subsidies for the first 60 years would be less than 50p per household per year, which would be considerably cheaper than both nuclear subsidies and offshore wind.
Mark commented:
“Rugby has historically been a centre of excellence for power generation, with not only GE Energy based here but also the development of the jet engine by Frank Whittle which took place locally as well. Giving the green light to Swansea Tidal Lagoon would be fantastic news for Rugby’s future, not only securing highly skilled jobs at GE Energy, but also many hundreds more within the local supply chain.”
Mark continued:
“Developing clean, reliable energy will be vital for the UK’s long term energy needs. Tidal power is not yet widely used, but there is tremendous potential energy in the reliable motions of the tide. The Swansea Tidal Lagoon represents a great opportunity for Britain to lead in this sector.”
Mark concluded:
“I am a great supporter of the Swansea Tidal Lagoon. Recently in the Chamber I was able to draw the attention of Ministers in the Business and Energy department to the potential the project would have for GE Energy and to make Britain a world leader in the tidal energy sector. I hope that the Government will look carefully at the proposals made in the Hendry review and choose to back this ambitious project.”