The leader of Swansea Council has said the lagoon could still happen for the city, even if the Government decides not to back the scheme.

Councillor Rob Stewart said they would look at ‘alternative ways’ of making it happen as it was ‘just too important’.

The fate of the £1.3bn Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project is in the hands of the Conservative Government which is yet to make a decision despite its own independent report recommending that the project is given the go-ahead.

Continued delays have led to speculation whether the scheme, which was awarded planning consent by the UK Government in 2015, will ever get off the ground.

The sticking point is that the lagoon's backers want a guaranteed price for the electricity it will produce.

They are asking the UK Government to give them a 90-year contract which they say would average £89.50 per MWh, slightly less than the price that is been guaranteed to enable the building of the new Hinkley Point nuclear power station.

The site would also need a marine licence, which would be awarded by the Welsh Government and which has been pending for three years in the face of concern about the impact on fish.

But Councillor Stewart has suggested there should be another way even if the Government does not agree.

Swansea Council leader Rob Stewart

“This project is too important to be shelved, so we’ll start looking at alternative ways of making it happen if the UK Government doesn’t give approval soon,” he said.

If the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon gets the go-ahead, it is claimed it would sustain more than 2,200 jobs and generate clean, green electricity for Swansea and south west Wales for well over a century.

In his independent report, Government-appointed inspector Charles Hendry described moving ahead with the Swansea lagoon as a ‘no-regrets’ policy which would bring ‘significant economic opportunity’.

Former minister Charles Hendry

Councillor Stewart said the whole of Wales could be entirely powered by renewable energy in future if the Swansea lagoon happened, as it has been described as a pathfinder project for other similar lagoons to be subsequently constructed across Wales and the rest of the UK.

“If four lagoons are built in Wales, then it could see Wales easily becoming an entirely renewable energy self-sufficient country. That has to be worth pursuing,” said Councillor Stewart.

“But other schemes, including that proposed in Cardiff, can’t go ahead without a tidal lagoon pathfinder scheme in Swansea, which is why I’ve recently met with Welsh Government Ministers and the Secretary of State for Wales to press the case for Swansea Bay.

“There is a real chance here for ‘Welsh’ power that would see our nation’s modern economy driven by renewable energy. That would be an extremely attractive proposition for investors in future.”

He said research had shown that the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project could attract an extra 100,000 visitors to the local area, also potentially leading to a global export industry in Swansea Bay with the construction of specialist tidal lagoon technology, including turbines.

Will the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon move off the drawing board and into construction?

In each year of operation, the tidal lagoon in Swansea Bay would reportedly create 236,000 tonnes worth of carbon savings.

“The lagoon would be a world first, helping Swansea lead the way in energy, innovation and science.

“The ‘Love the Lagoon’ community campaign that’s on-going has cross-party political support across South Wales, as well as the backing of the public and leading figures in our academic, cultural, sports and businesses communities, including Sir Stanley Thomas and Nigel Short. It’s also won the support of Charles Hendry, the government-appointed independent inspector who submitted his landmark report into the scheme to the UK Government earlier this year. He said the arguments in favour of a green light were compelling in terms of jobs, value for money and the environment.

The ‘ Love the Lagoon ’ campaign has generated close to 1,000 followers on Facebook with a fortnight of its launch, while hundreds of Twitter followers have also supported the cause.

People who want to participate in the campaign by uploading their videos of support can go to @lovethelagoon on Twitter or Instagram, or to www.facebook.com/lovethelagoon on Facebook.