AM and Labour Parliamentary Candidate welcome Tidal Lagoon announcement

David Rees, AM for Aberavon, and Stephen Kinnock, Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Aberavon, have today welcomed the Chancellor George Osborne’s announcement on the proposed Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon energy project. In his budget speech, the Chancellor confirmed that negotiations on this scheme, which would cost £1 billion and potentially generate enough power to run 120,000 homes for 120 years, have now opened with Tidal Lagoon Power Ltd.

David said: “This exciting renewable energy project can establish Wales as a leading nation in offshore tidal energy. It also presents an opportunity to the region for further inward investment and to our ports, particularly Port Talbot’s Deepwater Harbour, during the construction phase and possible future construction of similar lagoons. The lagoon will be the doorstep of the new science and engineering campus of Swansea University, which provides the opportunity for collaboration between the academic and research and development worlds.”

Stephen added: “The Tidal Lagoon will be an outstanding example of the benefits of moving to a clean, green energy future. Its construction and operation will create thousands of jobs across the region, deliver clean energy to tens of thousands of homes and businesses, help the UK to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, and moreover will demonstrate that we have the know-how to be the global pioneers in this ground-breaking new technology.”