| Mersey Barrage | |
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 The Mersey waterfront at Liverpool | |
 The River Mersey is highlighted in blue interactive map Coordinates: 53°27′00″N3°01′59″W / 53.45°N 3.033°W |
The Mersey Barrage is a proposed scheme for building a tidal barrage across the Mersey Estuary, between Liverpool and the Wirral Peninsula, England.
The River Mersey is considered to be a suitable source of marine renewable energy in the United Kingdom, because of its strong current and tidal range of up to 10 m (33 ft), [1] [2] the second highest in the United Kingdom. [3]
A Department of the Environment and UKAEA report in 1984 identified a site between New Brighton and Brocklebank Dock for a Mersey barrage. [4]
A 2006 study by Peel Holdings and the North West Development Agency identified the River Mersey as having considerable potential for tidal power. A pilot project, using a water wheel to harness tidal power, was considered at Bootle docks. [5] At the same time, a tidal barrage plan was evaluated, capable of generating 700 MW. [6]
A barrage scheme was abandoned in 2011, following a study by Peel Energy and the North West Development Agency. This proposal involved constructing a barrage between Dingle on the Liverpool bank and New Ferry on the Wirral bank. Although the study provided valuable insight, the preferred scheme was abandoned due to the expected lack of medium-term profitability. [7]
Steve Rotheram revived plans for a barrage as part of his 2017 election campaign. [8] The 2018 study indicated that economics were more favourable than previously, but still fell short by 20%. [9] In February 2020, following a year-long feasibility study, a tidal power proposal for the River Mersey was granted £2.5 million in funding to further develop the plan. [3] [10] In December 2022, the Liverpool City Region mayor announced an agreement between the City Region and K-water of South Korea, who built and operates the Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station, to carry out "reciprocal visits and information sharing". [11] [12] The Mersey Tidal Power Project was launched as "a scoping project" in March 2024. [13] The projected power output is not stated but it is suggested that the scheme will be able to "power a million homes".
The tidal barrage plan was put to public consultation in September 2024, starting the formal planning process. [14]
A Mersey barrage has been predicted to be capable of producing between 1.0 and 1.5 terawatt-hours of electricity per year (0.11 to 0.17 GW), which is equivalent to two-thirds of Liverpool's 2017 electricity requirement. [15]
One design has proposed that cross-river public transport infrastructure is included in the construction. [16]
The estuary is designated as an internationally important protected area, for wading birds, ducks and fish. The Lancashire Wildlife Trust and the Cheshire Wildlife Trust are monitoring the progress of the proposals, and the potential impact on existing habitat and wildlife within the estuary. [9] [17] Following a similar scheme with the Rance Tidal Power Station in Brittany, some marine fauna initially suffered, but a new equilibrium was achieved after ten years. [18]
Merseyside is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Welsh county of Flintshire across the Dee Estuary to the southwest, and the Irish Sea to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Liverpool.
The River Mersey is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part of the boundary between the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.
Tidal power or tidal energy is harnessed by converting energy from tides into useful forms of power, mainly electricity using various methods.
The M53 is an 18.9-mile-long (30.4 km) motorway in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside and the borough of Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire on the Wirral Peninsula in England. It is also referred to as the Mid Wirral Motorway. It runs between the Kingsway Tunnel, at Wallasey in the north, and the A55 at Chester.
The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea.
New Ferry is an urban area on the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located on the Wirral Peninsula, with the River Mersey to the east and the town of Bebington to the west. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire, the area was developed from the early nineteenth century.
The Great Float is a body of water on the Wirral Peninsula, England, formed from the natural tidal inlet, the Wallasey Pool. It is split into two large docks, East Float and West Float, both part of the Birkenhead Docks complex. The docks run approximately 2 miles (3 km) inland from the River Mersey, dividing the towns of Birkenhead and Wallasey. The Great Float consists of 110 acres (45 ha) of water and more than 4 miles (6 km) of quays.
The Wirral Peninsula, known locally as the Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about 15 miles (24 km) long and 7 miles (11 km) wide, and is bounded by the Dee Estuary to the west, the Mersey Estuary to the east, and Liverpool Bay to the north.
The Severn Estuary is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England and South Wales. Its very high tidal range, approximately 50 feet (15 m), creates valuable intertidal habitats and has led to the area being at the centre of discussions in the UK regarding renewable tidal energy.
The Liverpool City Region is a combined authority area in North West England. It has six council areas: the five metropolitan boroughs of Merseyside and the unitary authority of Halton in Cheshire. The region had a population of 1,571,045 in 2022.
The Dee Estuary is a large estuary by means of which the River Dee flows into Liverpool Bay. The estuary starts near Shotton after a five-mile (8 km) 'canalised' section and the river soon swells to be several miles wide forming the boundary between the Wirral Peninsula in north-west England and Flintshire in north-east Wales. The Dee Estuary's largest towns along it include Holywell, Flint, Connah's Quay, Shotton, Queensferry, Saltney Ferry, Heswall, West Kirby and Neston as well as other villages and towns alongside it. The A548 also passes along the estuary in Wales and parts of Cheshire West and Chester and Merseyside in England. The North Wales Coast Line follows the course of the Dee Estuary between Prestatyn and Chester.
The Severn Barrage is any of a range of ideas for building a barrage from the English coast to the Welsh coast over the Severn tidal estuary. Ideas for damming or barraging the Severn estuary have existed since the 19th century. The building of such a barrage would constitute an engineering project comparable with some of the world's biggest. The purposes of such a project have typically been one or several of: transport links, flood protection, harbour creation, or tidal power generation. In recent decades it is the latter that has grown to be the primary focus for barrage ideas, and the others are now seen as useful side-effects. Following the Severn Tidal Power Feasibility Study (2008–10), the British government concluded that there was no strategic case for building a barrage but to continue to investigate emerging technologies. In June 2013 the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee published its findings after an eight-month study of the arguments for and against the Barrage. MPs said the case for the barrage was unproven. They were not convinced the economic case was strong enough and said the developer, Hafren Power, had failed to answer serious environmental and economic concerns.
The production of renewable energy in Scotland is a topic that came to the fore in technical, economic, and political terms during the opening years of the 21st century. The natural resource base for renewable energy is high by European, and even global standards, with the most important potential sources being wind, wave, and tide. Renewables generate almost all of Scotland's electricity, mostly from the country's wind power.
Severn Tidal Power Feasibility Study is the name of a UK Government feasibility study into a tidal power project looking at the possibility of using the huge tidal range in the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel to generate electricity.
Steven Philip Rotheram is a British politician serving as Mayor of the Liverpool City Region since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool Walton from 2010 to 2017.
A tidal stream generator, often referred to as a tidal energy converter (TEC), is a machine that extracts energy from moving masses of water, in particular tides, although the term is often used in reference to machines designed to extract energy from the run of a river or tidal estuarine sites. Certain types of these machines function very much like underwater wind turbines and are thus often referred to as tidal turbines. They were first conceived in the 1970s during the oil crisis.
A tidal barrage is a dam-like structure used to capture the energy from masses of water moving in and out of a bay or river due to tidal forces.
Atlantic Gateway, sometimes referred to as Ocean Gateway, is a proposed redevelopment strategy for North West England, centering on the corridor between Greater Manchester and Merseyside. The proposal is for development backed by £50 billion of investment over 50 years, making it one of the most expensive and expansive development projects in UK history.
Centre Port is a proposed development across The Wash in Eastern England, which would link Norfolk and Lincolnshire by road. The plan is to link Hunstanton in Norfolk, with Gibraltar Point in Lincolnshire, creating an 11-mile (18 km) road, with a port and a railway at the midway point. Additionally the development would be a tidal barrage to prevent sea flooding, and would use tidal power to create enough electricity to power 600,000 homes. Whilst no formal plans have yet been submitted, the scheme has come under widespread criticism from those living in the area and from wildlife groups.
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