Two cheers for Swansea’s tidal lagoon

The go-ahead for the Swansea Bay project could help end fossil fuel reliance. But ministers have pulled the plug on other inventive schemes

Britain's west coast is facing a revolutionary change. If renewable energy advocates get their way, swaths of shoreline will soon be peppered with giant barrages designed to turn the power of the sea into electricity for our homes and factories. These tidal lagoons could supply more than 10% of the nation's electricity, it is claimed.

Last week former energy minister Charles Hendry published a review that strongly backed the construction of a 1.3 billion prototype lagoon in Swansea Bay. The trial project was a "no regrets option", Hendry concluded.

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