It’s recently been revealed that the UK’s energy consumption is anticipated to more than double by 2050. This is, unsurprisingly, largely due to the sizeable surge in AI-usage across the country. In a bid to meet these ever-growing demands, a rather hefty new tidal power station could soon set up shop on the coast of England.
The West Somerset Lagoon is the name and creating a renewable and reliable energy source is (hopefully going to be) the game. The proposed plans come courtesy of the architectural aficionados over at Marks Barfield. You may recognise the name as they’re the same brains that were behind one of the capital city’s most legendary landmarks; the London Eye.
The West Somerset Lagoon
The prospective plans feature a semi-circular lagoon wall that would stretch from Minehead to Watchet via the Bristol Channel. The wall would come complete with 125 turbines that would be able to generate enough energy to power around 2 million average UK homes. The location of the lagoon was specifically selected as the Bristol Channel supposedly has the second highest tidal range in the whole world. Who’d have thought it, hey?
The West Somerset Lagoon will utilise those tides to its advantage to produce clean, reliable, and renewable energy. Tidal energy is obviously better for the planet than fossil fuels, but is also more predictable than other renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. Tides (which are powered by the moon) will flow in and out of the lagoon, through the turbines, to generate energy.
Architect Julia Barfield is part of the team and said that the project is being created as a ‘direct response’ to the rise of AI, and the huge amount of energy that it demands.
The main purpose of the tidal power station is, of course, to generate clean energy. The plans, however, suggest that the lagoon could also become a public space in the future, complete with the likes of a lido, oyster farm, amphitheatre, observation tower, and walking route.
The West Somerset Lagoon is set to cost approximately £11 billion, but the team behind the plans believe that it would be a worthwhile, long-term investment, making it cheaper than alternative power sources in the long-run. The government haven’t yet commented on the project, and there are currently no specific details about when we can expect to see the West Somerset Lagoon up and running as it’s still very much in the planning stages. But when the idea of the project was first floated around, it was suggested that the project could be generating energy by 2037 and fully operational by 2038.
You can peruse the proposed plans for the West Somerset Lagoon here.