Plans for a Mersey tidal barrage have moved towards a defined location, with Liverpool City Region Combined Authority identifying a 1.5-mile corridor between Bromborough and Otterspool. Members are due to consider the recommendation on 6 November, following the authority’s 29 October announcement.
The proposal would allow engineering, environmental and commercial development to advance towards a Development Consent Order application. It is not construction approval: both that consent and a final investment decision are still required.
The authority describes a scheme of up to 1GW with a planned operating life of 120 years. An investment decision is expected in 2030.
Members will also consider a Regulated Asset Base funding model. This would allow some costs to be recovered from customers during construction, rather than only after completion; it remains the recommended approach, not a completed financing package.
The next stage concerns design and environmental assessment. The announcement does not establish construction contracts or current recruitment.
Source: Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, 29 October 2026.
Image credit: Historical location file photograph of the River Mersey from Otterspool Promenade, Liverpool, December 1999. It does not show the proposed barrage. Humphrey Bolton / Geograph / Wikimedia Commons. Source photograph · CC BY-SA 2.0. Resized; adaptation retains the same licence.
Energy People news brief, compiled with AI assistance from the linked sources.
