A COMPANY exploring options for a tidal lagoon at Newport expects to submit plans within the next three years.

Tidal Lagoon Power is looking to create sustainable infrastructure that can generate indigenous, low-carbon electricity at scale, and aims to develop and operate a fleet of tidal lagoons to meet up to eight per cent of UK electricity demand.

Its first project Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay, will establish a blueprint for its programme.

As with Swansea Bay tidal lagoons, a tidal lagoon at Newport would harness the power of the Severn Estuary and would make landfall to the east of the River Usk.

It would have an installed capacity of between 1,800MW and 2,800MW – enough low-carbon electricity to power every single home in Wales.

A spokeswoman for Tidal Lagoon Power said that the Newport lagoon would provide “an excellent opportunity to bring about a range of benefits, including employment, supply chain opportunities and the potential for marine conservation.”

She added: “The project is pre-application and our focus is currently on environmental and engineering feasibility and local community opinion.

“Further details will become available later in the year.”

The project outline states that a seawall attached to the foreshore, at its western extent approximately 1km to the mouth of the River Usk, and at its eastern extent to the foreshore in the area of Baldwin Sands.

The furthest offshore extent is up to 8km from the foreshore towards the centre of the Severn Estuary.

The Argus previously reported that Tidal Lagoon Power has already an Environmental Impact Assessment report for another lagoon between Cardiff and Newport, which looks to be six times bigger than the proposed project in Swansea A statement on the Planning Inspectorate’s website – which lists major infrastructure projects within England and Wales – states that the Newport-only application is expected to be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate between 2017 and 2018.

After receipt of the application, there will be 28 days to review the application and decide whether or not to accept it.