Recently, an international consortium led by the UK-based DST Innovations announced plans to build a US$2.3 billion (£1.7 billion) renewable energy project on the Swansea waterfront in Wales. The project is called BlueEden, led by several business partners, and supported by the Swansea City Council and the British Ports Association. It is planned to be delivered in three phases and is expected to be completed within 12 years.

The proposed project will include a new tidal lagoon that will be equipped with advanced underwater turbines capable of generating 320 megawatts of renewable energy from a 9.5-kilometer structure. BlueEden will be developed along the land and waters south of the Prince of Wales Pier in the SA1 area of Swansea. The project will also include a 60,000 square meter manufacturing plant that will produce batteries used to store renewable energy. In addition, the battery facility will power the BlueEden site.

The Queen’s Wharf area will include a 72,000-square-meter floating solar array that will have the capacity to replace 2 million kilograms of carbon emissions each year. In addition, the project will have a 94,000-square-meter data center for storage, processing and provision of network functions. Renewable energy projects have the potential to create more than 2,500 permanent jobs in the Swansea region and 16,000 jobs in Wales and the United Kingdom. It will also create additional employment opportunities during the construction phase. Keywords: engineering news, engineering construction

The clean energy generated by the project will be used to power the businesses of the BlueEden development project and the mixed development projects including housing, assisted living areas and apartments. TonyMiles, co-founder and CEO of DSTInnovations, said: "BlueEden is an opportunity to create a template for the world-using renewable energy and maximizing the use of new technologies and ideas, not only to develop a place to live and work, but also to thrive. "According to the planning permission, the construction of the BlueEden project is expected to start in early 2023. Editor/Xing Wentao