Raquel Hughes (Swansea Tidal Lagoon)

Raquel is a Management Accountant with 15 years experience in financial services. As Head of Product Management for the London Stock Exchange she was responsible for the Listed and Regulated Markets in London and Milan, as well as the regulatory News Service and Training businesses.  She joined Tidal Lagoon Power in April 2013.  In addition to being Secretary to the Boards of both Tidal lagoon Plc and Swansea Bay Tidal lagoon Plc, she is responsible for engaging with potential and existing investors in both companies.   Raquel joined us for our meeting at Bowden Hall on January 11th 2017. It was our first meeting of the New Year as well as being our first meeting at this recently refurbished venue.

Raquel outlined the potential benefits of this exciting venture. The Swansea Bay locality could benefit from investment in a project that is expected to cost approximately £650M and create over 2000 jobs in the construction and manufacturing industries. It involves the construction of a 9km long sea wall. The dredging of sand and rocks from the locality and strategically placed large boulders will provide the required stability against the sea. The tidal range of 7- 9 metres in Swansea Bay is the second largest in the world, second only to the Bay of Fundy in Canada.  There are two tides daily and with the ability to generate on both the ebb and flow tides it gives four chances to generate in a 24 hour period. It is estimated that the scheme will generate sufficient power for 100,000 homes for decades into the future. The environment is set to benefit in a number of ways.  In addition to a 10km sea reef, a marine community farm containing oyster beds will also be created. It is envisaged that the lagoon wall will by used for leisure activities such as walking, cycling and jogging. The lagoon will also be used for numerous water sports including sailing, rowing and triathlon.

This project is the first in what is expected to develop into a network of similar projects in Cardiff, Newport and around the British coastline. Raquel has an intimate knowledge of the project and presented a convincing case which she fully expects the government to back.

John Barnes.