The £1bn Swansea Bay tidal lagoon scheme has named Prudential as its “cornerstone investor”.
The insurance giant will pump £100m into the project, which will become the world’s largest tidal energy provider when it opens in 2018.
The scheme will generate more than 495GWh of electricity every year for 120 years, enough to provide nearly all of the domestic electricity for the Swansea Bay region. It will also form the first step in the development of a network of coastal lagoons, which could generate up to 8% of the UK’s electricity needs.
The 10km-long U-shaped seawall will run from the docks to near Swansea University’s new Fabian Way campus. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2015.
The 240MW project is currently being examined by the Office for National Infrastructure Planning.
Last month Keith Clarke, former Atkins chief executive, was named as non-executive chairman of Tidal Lagoon Power, the operator of the scheme.
Mark Shorrock, chief executive of the Tidal Lagoon Power, said: “Securing the backing of a world-renowned investment institution marks another major milestone for the Swansea Bay project and is a clear endorsement of our vision to introduce tidal lagoon infrastructure into the UK’s low carbon energy mix.”
Prudential has more than £25bn of investments in UK infrastructure.
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