Consultation begins on £6bn Mersey Tidal Power

Public consultation begins on a £6bn project to generate 120 years of clean energy using the power of the Mersey tides with the impact on shipping a key question. Tony McDonough reports

People and businesses can now have their say on the Mersey Tidal Power Project, a £6bn plan to generate 120 years of clean energy using the tides of the Mersey Estuary.

Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram has been pushing the project for several years. There were initially two options – a floating lagoon or a barrage across the river. Earlier this year the latter option was chosen.

At between four and 10 metres, the Mersey Estuary has the second-highest tidal range (the difference between the lowest and the highest tides) in the UK. It is second only to the River Severn.

Water from the high tides would be released through turbines as the tide falls, generating power. Previously Mr Rotheram has said the scheme would generate enough electricity to power one million homes for more than a century.

It would have a capacity of up to 5GW. Currently the UK’s entire power generating capacity totals around 75GW.

A barrage also provides the opportunity of creating a bridge between Liverpool and Wirral. This is unlikely to carry traffic but could be used to create a new walking and cycling route across the river.

One of the biggest challenges is ensuring minimal interference with busy shipping lanes. The largest container and cargo ships berth at the main port of Liverpool at Seaforth, on the mouth of the estuary.

But a large number of ships come further up the river. They include more than 100 cruise ships a year, over 500 oil tankers berthing at Tranmere and Stanlow, Stena Ferries to Belfast and cargo vessels to the Port of Garston and the Manchester Ship Canal.

Best option would be lock gates at one end of the barrage to allow ships through. Leaders of Liverpool city region’s £5bn maritime sector will be pushing to ensure minimal disruption to shipping movements.

This six-week consultation runs until Friday, November 15 and offers the opportunity to comment on initial proposals for a tidal barrage across the River Mersey and its associated infrastructure.

A new website has been created to allow people to submit their views online. Ten public engagement events will also be held across the city region and surrounding areas in which people can view details of the scheme, ask questions and have their say.

It begins just days after the project entered the formal planning process, with the submission of a scoping report to the Planning Inspectorate to agree the ecology surveys that will need to be prepared ahead of a planning submission in 2026.

Submitting a scoping opinion is the first step towards preparing a Development Control Order (DCO) submission – a process which typically takes two to three years.

Mr Rotheram said: “The River Mersey has been the lifeblood of our region’s fortunes for centuries, and today marks another important milestone in its future.\

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“With the launch of our first public consultation and the start of the formal planning process, Mersey Tidal Power is moving closer to reality than at any stage in our history.

“This project has the potential to power hundreds of thousands of homes with renewable energy for 120 years while creating thousands of green jobs. It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity.”

A dedicated consultation website has also been created at www.merseytidal.co.uk and will host information on the scheme as well as an on-line survey. List of public consulation events is as follows: