South Korean investment in major Mersey project could provide clean energy for Liverpool for 100 years
South Korea’s national water management company could invest in the development of a major River Mersey project that could provide clean energy for the Liverpool City Region for more than a century.
Mayor Steve Rotheram signs a two-year extension to a memorandum of agreement with Jang Byeong-hoon, executive vice president of K-Water.
Since taking up his post in 2017, a tidal barrage has been an ambition of Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram. His plan is to create a huge piece of infrastructure in the River Mersey, stretching from Liverpool to Wirral, built in order to generate clean and reliable energy from the river and with it thousands of jobs.
It also opens the possibility of a first-ever cycling and pedestrian route over the river between Liverpool and Wirral, and could provide a defence against future flooding risks associated with climate change.
Mr Rotheram has revealed that K-Water, operators of the Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Plant, could look to put financial backing into the scheme as the business case progresses. The Metro Mayor signed a two-year extension to a memorandum of agreement with the South Korean company.
An original partnership was struck between both sides in 2022 to help shape plans to deliver the Mersey Tidal project. Detailed technical exchanges have taken place with K-Water and the lead contractor for the Sihwa Lake tidal plant, Daewoo E&C. These have provided an understanding of how the world’s largest tidal power plant was designed and built and have shaped development of the Mersey Tidal Power approach to design and constructability.
Jang Byeong-hoon, executive vice president of K-Water, joined Mr Rotheram at Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) offices to confirm the signing.
Mr Byeong-hoon said: “K-water first established its connection with LCRCA three years ago, and we have signed a MoA for the Mersey tidal and carbon-neutral technology cooperation here in Liverpool.
I hope that through this event, our cooperative relationship will strengthen, ensuring the successful development of the Mersey tidal project and advancing our efforts for carbon neutrality.”
Mayor Rotheram added: “It’s a two-year extension because we’re getting into the detail of how we can deliver a tidal project on the Mersey and we’re learning from what is currently the world’s largest tidal project. They do this on a daily basis, we’re learning from the very best and they’re taking their interest even further because they want to discuss potential investment into our project.
“We still need the government to do the heavy lifting for us but it’s starting to really coalesce around the idea of where it’s going to be, what the consequences of building it will be, what the consequences of not building it will be. All of those things are in the business case now.”
.