A body of senior business owners and directors in Wales have come together to form an independ-ent industry advisory group focused on realising the commercial benefits of the proposed Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon.
With the Welsh Economy Research Unit at Cardiff University having reported that Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon will represent an estimated £756m of capital investment, the newly formed advisory Group will take responsibility for championing a new tidal lagoon industry in Wales to maximise the poten-tial of supply chain opportunities within Wales and the UK.
Led by Roger Evans MBE, managing director of Schaeffler (UK) as chair, the Wales Tidal Lagoon In-dustry Group includes Owain Davies, managing director of Amcanu, Nick Revell, managing director of Ledwood Engineering, Mark Coia, managing director of Renewables, Energy & Marine, Mabey Bridge, Russell Scaplehorn, managing director of Hornbill, Winston Hall, director of JW Morris & Son and Gherold Davies, managing director of Fairwood Fabrications Limited.
The aim of the Wales Tidal Industry Advisory Group will be to demonstrate that there is a world class cluster of manufacturing, assembly and construction businesses in Wales, capable of creating a sup-ply chain for Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon and a further five tidal lagoons across the United Kingdom.
Roger Evans explains: “We have come together to ensure that Wales can benefit from this hugely exciting new industry that has the potential to lever close to £300m of regional spending spread over a three year development period. Cardiff Business School estimates that this could result in a total additional £454m of additional output in Wales with the development phase of the project leading to the creation of £173m of gross value added for Wales.
“We need to make sure that we keep this investment in Wales and we will therefore be working with Tidal Lagoon Power to develop relationships with core contractors, showcasing the capacity and capability that Wales has to offer.”
Mark Shorrock, chief executive of Tidal Lagoon Power Limited, says: “We have consistently stated that we will be seeking UK and Welsh suppliers of critical components to create a sustainable long term tidal lagoon industrial base that will support this and further developments as well as providing long term operation and maintenance support. We want to see a minimum 50% of Welsh and 65% UK content for our first tidal lagoon and will work with Welsh industry to ensure that the region cap-italises on its first-mover advantage to serve subsequent tidal lagoon developments.“
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