Tidal Barrage power generation potential in England
The sum of the estimates of potential power from tidal barrages in those bays & estuaries that have at least one bank in England, is about 5.57 GWe (48.8 TWh/y, 2.2 kWh/p/d), equivalent to about 13% of current electricity demand.
| Site | GWe | TWh/y | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Severn, Minehead to Aberthaw | 2.85 | 25 | “Analysis of Options for Tidal Power Development in the Severn Estuary – Interim Options Analysis Report Volume 1“, DECC; December 2008 |
| Solway | 1.10 | 9.66 | “Tapping the Tidal Power Potential of the Eastern Irish Sea”; Joule Project JIRP106/03, Executive Summary of the Final Report, 2008 |
| Morecambe Bay | 0.68 | 5.98 | |
| Mersey | 0.07 | 0.57 | |
| Dee | 0.10 | 0.89 | |
| Wash | 0.42 | 3.70 | “The potential for tidal energy from small estuaries”, Department of Energy 1989, ETSU TID 4048-P1, as reported in “Tapping the Tidal Power Potential…” above |
| Humber | 0.19 | 1.65 | |
| Thames | 0.16 | 1.37 | |
| Total | 5.57 | 48.82 |
As the north-west-coast barrages (Solway, Morecambe Bay, Mersey, Dee) have high tide about 4 hours after the Severn, the east-coast barrages (Wash, Humber) have high tide 1-2 hours before the Severn, and the Thames has high tide 6 hours away from the Severn, there would at any given time be at least one barrage generating, and there would often be one available for over-pumping.
These estimates exclude any potential sites that lie solely in Scotland or Wales, and excludes the potential from tidal stream power too.
Dave Andrews - August 20, 2009, 3:55 pm
Good artricle – for reference it needs the total UK power demand for comparison.
Andrew Smith - August 20, 2009, 5:32 pm
DUKES 2009 has total UK electricity generation at 385.6TWh (43.9GWe) for 2008 (excluding pumped storage), and total final consumption at 341.6TWh (38.9GWe). Should I add this to the article, and will it need re-approving after editing?
Anderson, Neo - April 16, 2010, 1:25 pm
Thanks Claverton energy group you have produced the stats i urgently needed.
Thanks Again