Abstract
Tidal lagoons are presented as an environmentally friendly alternative to tidal barrages. This does not mean that their environmental impacts can be overlooked. A UK government review recommended a pilot scheme lagoon go ahead, with careful environmental monitoring. Despite recent government rejection of a lagoon scheme, it is still more important than ever to consider environmental solution options for any future lagoon developments. There are no operating lagoons in the world and so their environmental impacts are not fully understood. However, there is a vast quantity of literature available from other industries addressing similar impacts in the coastal, ocean and river environments. This systematic review follows the PRISMA and CEE guidance. Using this methodology the available literature covering relevant solution options from other industries that could be applied to future lagoon developments was quantified. This presents an investigation into solution options only, giving a quantitative analysis of what resources are available, how this compares to industry understanding, where the expertise lies globally, what impacts are being addressed and how applicable the solutions are for lagoon application. This paper analyses the extent and relevance of this available research on solutions as a resource for the nascent lagoon industry. Over half of the solutions found in this review require only small shifts in development for them to be realistic solution options for the lagoon industry in the future. This review opens the door on a vast and valuable resource and justifies the need for further investigation into solutions for the lagoon industry.
Highlights
Tidal range technology extracts energy from the tides by creating an artificial difference in water levels, or head
This paper presents a quantitative investigation into the literature resources surrounding solution options only, it does not look in detail at the environmental impacts of tidal lagoons and it does not provide detailed qualitative analysis on the solutions options
This systematic review shows that there are wide-ranging solution options documented in the literature which have been either applied or suggested in other industries to address impacts similar to those which are likely to arise in the future lagoon industry
Summary
Tidal range technology extracts energy from the tides by creating an artificial difference in water levels, or head. The key advantages of tidal range energy include a high level of predictability [2], the ability to phase shift energy to provide a continuous base load supply [3] and the long expected life span [4]. Despite these advantages there are concerns surrounding high capital cost and environmental impacts, and the Severn Barrage in the UK has been repeatedly rejected since 1920s for these reasons [5,6,7]. Tidal lagoons are often presented as environmentally friendly alternatives to barrage developments [6,8,9], but this does not mean their environmental impacts can be overlooked
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