England-based energy company Ecotricity has presented two offshore tidal lagoon proposals to the UK government.
The projects in the Solway Firth in England and Scotland have been proposed by the firm ahead of a joint select committee review of the planned 320MW Swansea Bay project.
One of the tidal lagoon projects will be built on the English side of the border while the other on the Scottish side.
Ecotricity said that the two projects will have capacity to generate as much electricity as the Swansea Bay proposal, and would require half the cost to build compared to Swansea Bay.
The company, which has partnered with Tidal Electric to develop the Solway sites, has also signaled their readiness to the government to take part in a competitive process to ensure value for public money.
Ecotricity founder Dale Vince said: “The government has done well to resist the last couple of years of intense lobbying pressure from backers of the Swansea scheme, there was never a case for paying that much or for moving too quickly to allow for proper competition.
“In the last year the asking price for the Swansea project appears to have dropped considerably (by up to half), that’s a valuable use of time by the government. But there’s more to go.
“The projects we have unveiled today are ready to take part in a proper process. There is no need to rush; done properly tidal lagoons could play a big part in our future energy mix, and in lowering our energy bills. There are other companies and other projects that would take part in a proper process.”
Ecotricity said that its proposed offshore tidal lagoons also operate more efficiently and have significantly less environmental impact.
The firm claimed that the government has indicated it is unable to support the Tidal Lagoon Power’s Swansea project due to its excessive cost.