With a general election taking place this month, Tidal Power Plc is banking on the next government have a different attitude towards the scheme than the last one, which threw it out.
With the 2015 development consent order for Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon expiring in June 2020 unless material works have started, Tidal Power has launched a £1.2m fundraising round to enable the conclusion of works to secure the planning permission in perpetuity. It is offering shares priced at £2.50 and for a minimum subscription of £500.
In June 2018 Theresa May’s government’s refused to offer the Swansea project any subsidy support via a contract for difference (CfD), the revenue support mechanism open to forms of low carbon power generation.
However the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon features in the 2019 election manifestos of the Labour Party and Plaid Cymru, with those of the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party also stating explicit support for new investment into tidal power.
Mark Shorrock chief executive of both Tidal Power plc and Tidal Lagoon Power Ltd, said: “With the increased awareness of the climate emergency, the rationale to deliver lagoons is stronger than ever and that view is shared by the majority of political parties contesting the 2019 general election.
“However, we must first remove the cliff-edge from Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon’s planning permission. No amount of political will can resurrect this vital pathfinder project if the planning permission is allowed to lapse. That is why we’ve launched our new fundraise today. By raising a relatively modest sum we can retain for the UK the option of large-scale, multi-generational tidal power.
“We’d like to thank the almost 450 individual investors who share our vision and have to date invested £37m in the project. Political and institutional support are important but in the struggle to decarbonise the global economy, it is individuals that hold the key to transformation.”
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