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.
Good artricle – for reference it needs the total UK power demand for comparison.
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?
Thanks Claverton energy group you have produced the stats i urgently needed.
Thanks Again