Liverpool City Region leaders are expected to approve the next stage of the multi-billion pound Mersey Tidal Power Project this week, with the preferred location for the world's largest tidal power scheme announced for the first time.
A meeting on Friday will see the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority agree a plan to move forward with the project, which would be built in a 1.5 mile stretch of the River Mersey covering both the Liverpool and Wirral banks.
Preferred Development Zone Announced
The area between Bromborough in Wirral and Otterspool in Liverpool has been revealed as the preferred development zone. The location, known as an alignment corridor, was chosen following engagement with key stakeholders and a detailed technical appraisal of the options.
The appraisal also recommended that further work should focus on refining the barrage to align with navigation channels to the side of the barrage, as well as lock-based options. No construction work will take place until a Development Consent Order (DCO) is granted and a final investment decision is made.
Funding Model and Public Engagement
At the same meeting, the Combined Authority will be asked to adopt a Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model as the preferred option to fund the project, following the completion of a Finance Model Update. The RAB model allows the organisation developing the asset to start recovering some of its costs from customers while the project is being built, reducing costs for investors and the public purse.
Plans are being prepared for a second public engagement in late 2027 or early 2028. A first public engagement in 2024 attracted more than 3,000 responses, with 84% backing the project and 92% supporting the need for more renewable energy to be produced in the Liverpool City Region.
Project Vision
The Mersey Tidal Power Project, if built, is planned to be the largest tidal range power plant in the world, generating up to 1 gigawatt of clean electricity for 120 years. The Combined Authority says it would create thousands of jobs in construction and operation, positioning the Liverpool City Region as the "UK's epicentre for tidal manufacturing and associated supply chains."
Speaking ahead of Friday's meeting, Mayor Steve Rotheram said: "For as long as I can remember, people have talked about harnessing the power of the River Mersey. Identifying where the barrage could be built is a major step forward for a project that has the potential to be genuinely transformational – not just for our region, but for the country."
Rotheram added: "At a time when events around the world can send energy prices soaring, we need to make better use of the resources we have on our own doorstep. We should be generating more of our own energy, strengthening our energy security and creating good jobs here at home."
"The Mersey has one of the biggest tidal ranges in the country and we have the industrial expertise and the ambition to help do something genuinely world-leading. And with the potential to protect homes and businesses from rising sea levels too, this could be an investment in our region's future that our children, grandchildren and generations beyond them could still be benefiting from a century from now," he said.
