Mersey tidal power project to take inspiration from South Korea

Plans to develop the world’s largest tidal power scheme on the River Mersey will take inspiration from South Korea, after an agreement was signed with the country’s state water company.

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram met Jeong Kyeongyun, vice-president of Korea Water Resources Corporation, in Liverpool on Tuesday and signed a memorandum of agreement which will see them co-operate and share lessons.

The corporation, known as K-water, owns and operates the Sihwa Lake tidal range power scheme, which is currently the world’s largest.

It is hoped the Mersey Tidal Power Project would generate enough energy to power up to one million homes and could be up and running within a decade.

Mr Rotheram said: “There are still huge technical and financial challenges to overcome but Mersey Tidal Power has the potential to provide enough clean, green, predictable energy to power up to one million homes for over a century.

“The case for tidal has never been clearer – both for our economy and our planet, especially given the importance of energy security following Putin’s murderous invasion of Ukraine.

“We’ve set ourselves an ambitious target to reach net zero by 2040 at the latest – a decade before national government – and with an abundance of natural assets and advantages on our doorstep, I believe we have the capability to smash those targets.

“We want to take inspiration from trailblazers around the world, who are already leading the way in tidal energy, and our agreement with K-water is a massive step on our journey to bringing this project to life.

“I am very hopeful that this partnership will flourish and, hopefully, help to position the Liverpool City Region as Britain’s Renewable Energy Coast.”

The agreement will see close co-operation between the two tidal power projects, with  reciprocal visits and information sharing.