article: If this form of renewable energy is supported, it could signal the dawn of a new industrial era, worth £15bn to Wales and the UK. Those behind the new manufacturing and energy sector believe it can deliver sustainable, locally-produced electricity for about a hundred years. Alongside this, a wealth of knowledge would build-up that could be exported around the world. The plan would be for the first lagoon in Swansea Bay to be a prototype and the smallest. That would then be followed by lagoons in Cardiff - east of where Cardiff Bay is now - Newport, Bridgwater Bay, Colwyn Bay and west Cumbria, north of Workington. That is Tidal Lagoon Power (TLP's) dream. Former UK Energy Minister Charles Hendry has been gathering evidence for nine months for his inquiry, including visits to all the potential sites and discussions with industry. Now the wait for his conclusions is intensifying. The Swansea Bay lagoon would cost about £1.3bn; the company has promised that half that money would be spent in Wales. So what sorts of Welsh businesses would be involved? The most obvious are civil engineering companies. Monmouthshire construction firm Alun Griffiths Construction is already contracted to work delivering some of the roadways, while Andrew Scott Civil Engineering of Port Talbot is watching keenly. They plan to bid for some of the marine work contracts that would be put to tender if the conclusion of the Hendry review marks the go-ahead. General Electric and Andritz Hydro have between them a £300m contract for the 16 turbines that would be used in Swansea Bay. The plan is that the final turbine assembly would be carried out locally. Alongside that there will be work for companies involved in fabricated metals, steel casting and forging, and power electronics. The chief executive of TLP Mark Shorrock said: "We certainly think we'll be creating direct employment of 1,900 in Swansea. That ignores the supply chain. "As we go through that, we see carpenters, electrical engineers and then there's an awful lot of steel in generators and turbines." If the Swansea Bay project gets the go ahead, TLP will then speed up its preparatory work on larger tidal lagoons in Cardiff, Newport and Colwyn Bay. Each site will also need the same skills but on a greater scale. The estimate is that four tidal lagoons in Wales could support 33,500 jobs during the construction and more than 3,000 when they are in operation. They could be worth £1.3bn a year in Gross Value Added (GVA), the measure of just how much a contribution sector or industry makes to the economy. Mr Shorrock said there was the potential for Wales to become the industry base for exporting mass-produced turbines, generators and engineering around the world. Cost of power The other side of the coin is the cost of the electricity generated by tidal lagoons. It has been described by politicians as "expensive" referring to the guaranteed price - or strike price - that TLP is asking from the UK government. TLP forecasts that its lagoons would generate power for 120
summary: An independent review into tidal lagoon energy in the UK has been completed - and now the UK Government is expected to decide by the end of the year whether the industry has a future, including a crucial first step in Swansea Bay.