Proposed giant tidal plant for mainland China is far-off dream

A tidal power project proposed by a consortium of Dutch engineering firms for mainland China aims to rival the hydro project in the Three Gorges Dam but has a long way to go to prove its feasibility, much less lure would-be investors to make it a reality.

But the fact that it has attracted a commitment from mainland research institutes and power firms to co-invest millions of US dollars to conduct a detailed feasibility study says a lot about the mainland's desire to enhance energy security by tapping foreign technology, especially one with the potential to harness clean renewable energy to help fight air pollution shrouding major cities such as Beijing.

"Mass commercialisation of tidal power is very far away, maybe it will happen by 2050," said Lin Boqiang of the Xiamen University Centre for China Energy Economics Research. "Mainland research institutions may be looking into its feasibility out of our nation's desire to enhance energy security and tackle pollution, but the cost-competitiveness thus far is highly doubtful."

The mainland relies on pollution-prone fossil fuels, especially coal, for 90 per cent of its primary energy needs and Beijing wants the share of non-fossil fuels to rise to 15 per cent by 2020 through cleaner energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro and nuclear power.

Lin's scepticism contrasted sharply with the optimism of the Dutch consortium led by infrastructure design and construction firm Strukton, which said it hopes to complete by 2020 a US$40 billion tidal power project on the mainland which could generate 15,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity. It said that that would be enough power for more than 10 million homes.

By comparison, the Three Gorges project in Hubei province, the world's largest hydro power project, produces 22,400MW of power. It also took 20 years to build.