OUTLOOK
29 November 2017

The complex web behind the siting of power plants

Politics, vested interests, historical dependencies and even mythology can trump the most logical and efficient power-grid plan.

Peter Fairley⁰

Peter Fairley
1. Peter Fairley is a freelance science writer based in Victoria, Canada.
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For more than a decade, the United Kingdom has deliberated over building a renewable power plant in Swansea Bay that would be driven by the Bristol Channel’s world-class tides, which have a maximum daily range of around 15 metres. Harnessing the tide could supply 11% of Wales’s household electricity needs. Proving that such a barrage can feasibly capture energy from the daily ebb and flow was just the beginning. Engineering issues such as installation cost, mode of operation and longevity must all be considered when deciding where to site a power plant. Then there are a host of less-computable factors such as the impacts on local fish stocks and wildlife, on traditional activities such as oyster farming, and on the Welsh economy.

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Nature 551, S150-S152 (2017)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-017-07511-2

This article is part of Nature Outlook: Energy transitions, an editorially independent supplement produced with the financial support of third parties. About this content.