Tidal energy project to link Cumbria and Scotland

Plans for a multi-million pound tidal energy project linking Cumbria with southwest Scotland have been drawn up.

The proposal, which forms part of a wider £12bn plan to create similar structures in six North West estuaries, includes the creation of a new road on a ‘tidal gateway’ built across the Solway Firth to connect Workington with Dumfries and Galloway.

The Solway project is expected to create jobs, generate power and improve the region’s transport links, according to energy company North West Energy Squared (NWE2).

Alan Torevell, the chairman of NWE2, has said the entire project would potentially generate enough energy to power over 5m homes for 120 years, according to the BBC.

Mr Torevell said of the project: “The Solway part of it, in terms of electricity production part of it, is the most important part.

“We would produce probably 50% more electricity from that - maybe 12m MW/hrs a year.”

If NWE2 secures financial support, tidal gateways spanning the Dudden Estuary and Morecambe Bay would likely form the first phase of the project.

Construction work on the Solway is due to begin around 2022, Mr Torevell said.

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