Is this finally the moment for UK tidal power?

BBC Inside Science

BBC

Technology, Science

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 1 May 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Why does the UK, an island shaped by its strong tides, still not have any major tidal energy schemes? Plans for tidal barrages in the UK seem to be regularly discussed but never come to fruition, but now a new report has suggested that a tidal lagoon should be created in the Severn Estuary to generate electricity. Guest presenter Tom Whipple speaks to Chair of the Severn Estuary Commission, Dr Andrew Garrad, about whether this will finally be the moment for tidal power that we’ve been waiting for.

Also, earth scientists around the world are trying to understand why the 7.7 magnitude earthquake which struck Myanmar last weekend was just so devastating. Dr Ian Watkinson, structural geologist at Royal Holloway university, tells us about a theory that a seismic event called a ‘supershear earthquake’ took place.

And a new bat is causing controversy in the baseball world! The ‘Torpedo Bat’, engineered by an MIT physicist, has helped the New York Yankees crush records in Major League Baseball. Steve Haake, Professor of Sports Engineering at Sheffield Hallam University explains why this bat has helped hitters hit so many home runs.

Science journalist Caroline Steel drops in with her picks of the week’s news, including a new blood test for Alzheimer's disease, a potential new super collider and a new way to identify which bees are most hygienic.

Presenter: Tom Whipple Producers: Clare Salisbury, Dan Welsh, Jonathan Blackwell Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're about to listen to a BBC podcast, but this is about something else you might enjoy.
0:05.4	My name's Katie Lecky and I'm an assistant commissioner for on demand music on BBC Sounds.
0:10.8	The BBC has an incredible musical heritage and culture and as a music lover, I love being part of that.
0:17.5	With music on sounds, we offer collections and mixes for everything, from workouts to
0:22.4	helping you nod off, boogie in your kitchen, or even just a moment of calm. And they're all put
0:28.3	together by people who know their stuff. So if you want some expertly curated music in your life,
0:35.0	check out BBC Sounds. Welcome to the podcast of BBC Inside Science, first broadcast on Thursday the 3rd of April 2025.
0:43.3	Hello, I'm Tom Whipple and coming up this week.
0:51.3	Why Physics is disrupting the world of baseball. How the geoscience equivalent of a sonic boom might help explain why the recent earthquake in Myanmar was so devastating.
1:02.0	And science journalist Caroline Steele is here. Like the tightly focused beam of an extremely expensive particle accelerator, she has been probing the week's other science
1:11.1	stories. What have you uncovered for us, Caroline?
1:14.1	So we've got a new blood test for Alzheimer's. We've got a potentially massive super
1:20.4	collider that CERN may or may not be building and a new way to identify which bees are
1:27.2	most hygienic.
1:28.9	But first, currently at Hinkley Point, we are spending billions building a nuclear power station.
1:35.1	It is a cathedral to modern science.
1:38.1	It requires mastery of the atom itself, but it's pricey and complicated.
1:43.5	Beside it on the Sevenestery, every day, several Hinkley points worth of energy goes up and down, up and down and isn't complicated.
1:52.0	It is clean, predictable, and so long as the moon keeps in orbit it keeps going.
1:58.0	Harnessing it doesn't require atomic physics, it requires a wall and a turbine.
2:03.0	It is, of course, tidal energy. Would it be a good idea to think about using it too? Yes, according to
2:09.5	the 1981 Bondi commission that estimated it could provide 7% of UK electricity. Another commission in 1994 agreed.
	...

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