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UTILITY WEEK | 20TH - 26TH JANUARY 2017 | 13 Policy & Regulation (£89.50/MWh if both go ahead). And that strike price, agreed with EDF, has been criti- cised in many quarters as exorbitant. The follow-up and full-size lagoons could make do with a lower contract for difference (CfD) strike price, estimated at £65/MWh. Those praising the technology call this "very competitive" with other sources of renew- able and low-carbon generation – such as onshore wind, which currently costs around £70/MWh. However, this is still some way above the current wholesale energy price of £45/MWh, with wholesale prices are at two- year highs. This has raised concerns with consumer groups. Citizens Advice chief executive Gil- lian Guy says the initial project, which will be funded via consumer bills for 90 years, is an "expensive option". She says: "While building tidal lagoons could bring benefits to the area, such as by creating new jobs and boosting tourism, we question whether it is fair for energy bill pay- ers to pick up these costs where many of the benefits do not relate to the electricity being produced." These are the things Clark will have to consider during his deliberations on the future of tidal lagoons, and in particular the Swansea Bay project. Supporting tidal power may not be the cheapest option, but it would provide low-carbon generation, as well as a much-needed boost to the country's steel industry and jobs for the local economy. Clark's decision will show how much the industrial strategy moniker that adorns the door of his department is central to its decisions. "It's great to have this ringing endorsement of innovative technology and modern industry. The world's first tidal lagoon in Swansea Bay can provide power for our national energy needs and create local jobs for decades to come." RENEWABLE UK CHIEF EXECUTIVE HUGH MCNEAL "By kicking off a British tidal lagoon industry we are presenting the world with another awesome low-carbon option, and its British know-how that will be called upon should other countries look to take up that option." GOOD ENERGY CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND FOUNDER JULIET DAVENPORT "Any support for the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon project appears, on the face of it, to be a rare piece of positive news for the UK's renewables sector… Currently, truly affordable clean energy from offshore wind and solar is being left to fend for itself while the benefits of subsidy are enjoyed by new nuclear and even fossil fuels." EY HEAD OF ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY FINANCE BEN WARREN "While building tidal lagoons could bring benefits to the area, such as by creating new jobs and boosting tourism, we question whether it is fair for energy bill payers to pick up these costs where many of the benefits do not relate to the electricity being produced." CITIZENS ADVICE CHIEF EXECUTIVE GILLIAN GUY "The issues are particularly complex as they relate to untried technology in the marine environment." BUSINESS AND ENERGY SECRETARY GREG CLARK "With the publication of the Hendry Review we've hit 'peak consensus'… Home-grown power from the tides, starting at Swansea Bay, is something we can all agree on: communities and investors, conservationists and industrialists, politicians of all persuasions and now an independent government review, all singing from the same hymn sheet." MARK SHORROCK, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, TIDAL LAGOON POWER BIG NUMBERS £1.3bn estimated cost of the Swansea Bay lagoon by the developer £89.90/ MWh the predicted cost of electricity from the lagoon by company CEO Mark Shorrock. 320MW Installed capacity of the pathfinder project at Swansea Bay >530GWh Reliable net power output every year, for 120 years 155,000 Approximate number of Welsh homes the project could power in full each year 11% Proportion of Welsh domestic electricity consumption the project could meet each year 2,232 Number of construction and manufacturing jobs directly sustained by the project 9.5km Length of the lagoon's breakwater Lagoon pipeline The Swansea Bay tidal lagoon is meant to be a "pathfinder' project, one whose legacy will be five further tidal lagoons located around the British coastline, each with a higher generating capacity than the pilot project at Swansea. These secondary projects would be full-sized lagoons at: • Cardiff • Newport • Colwyn Bay • Bridgwater Bay • West Cumbria " " Publication of Hendry Review. Independent review into tidal lagoons conducted by Charles Hendry. 2015 2016 2017 • Development Consent Order made in June. • InfraRed Capital Partners named second equity investor. • Macquarie Capital named Mandated Debt Financial Adviser.