Set to cost up to £400 million, the project set to span from Annan across to Bowness on Solway in Cumbria, was the focus of a recent presentation at Solway House in Dumfries.
Annan Community Council member Alan Kay, who attended the event, said: “From an Annan point of view, it looks as if it would be most advantageous because the one thing that they did say was that the construction of the whole thing would be based in Annan and then floated out.
“So there would be an awful lot of local labour used in the construction.”
Only invited representatives of local bodies around the Solway attended the presentation, which set out plans for an energy gateway which would harness the power of the tide and generate an annualised output of 40MW enough to power 40,000 homes.
Mr Kay says guests were told the ‘electricity bridge’ would also allow cyclists and walkers to cross the Solway.
And while he said a lack of road infrastructure on the English side ruled out road vehicles, Mr Kay said it had been intimated that it would be accessible to emergency vehicles in certain circumstances.
Peter Matthews attended the same event on behalf of Annan Harbour Action Group.
He said the team behind the project revealed that if the project impacted on salmon migration it would be shut off during that period.
Mr Kay added: “I’d personally like to see it going ahead, because it seems like it ticks all the boxes and would put Annan right on the map.”
A representative of Solway Energy Gateway Ltd will be invited to a future meeting of Annan Community Council.
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