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As the world’s first tidal-powered deep-sea container terminal, construction on Centre Port UK could start as early as 2025. Centre Port is an 18km, £2bn tidal barrage across The Wash, a bay in East Anglia, created to connect Lincolnshire and Norfolk.
The project will include the first tidal energy-powered deep-sea container terminal. It will also serve as a flood defence barrage, have connections to the rail and road systems, and promote the production of green hydrogen. A crucial component is a 20-minute dual carriageway link. The link will run on top of the barrage and connect south Lincolnshire with north Norfolk, saving 2.5 hours and clearing traffic on the A17/16 roads.
Major projects can currently take four years to gain approval. This was revealed by the National Infrastructure Commission’s recommendations to the government regarding streamlining the infrastructure planning system. These revelations about the project’s ambitious timeline follow these recommendations.
The Centre Port’s project details
James Sutcliffe, the chief executive of Centre Port, revealed the schedule during a presentation at the NCE’s Flood Resilience conference in London. Sutcliffe also provided conference attendees with an update on the technical details and features of the plan, which is intended to support 400M containers annually.
One of the project’s most important components is a hydroelectric dam in the sea defence. Sutcliffe claimed that it will be constructed to last at least 200 years. Furthermore, it will power 500,000 homes in addition to assisting in the production of green hydrogen. The dam will include large reversible hydroelectric turbines supplied by Andritz. It will be located at the centre of the crossing where the water depth would allow for their installation.
The concrete caissons that will house the turbines will be pre-formed and floated into place before installation, according to Sutcliffe. The Wash has a surface area of 780 km2 and tides that vary between 4 and 4.5 metres per day. Thus it “will require multiple turbines to enable the tides to be maintained within the lagoon,” he continued. The estimated energy output from this body of water is 800 GWh. |
