Posted: Monday 11th February 2013 by Joan
Harnessing the Power of the Severn – We must make the right choices
The vast tidal range of the Severn Estuary makes it one of the great natural wonders of the world, but it is also why discussions about harnessing the power of the Severn keep reappearing.
Back in 2007 the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) undertook a feasibility study into Severn Tidal Power. This study considered five short-listed options including three barrages and two lagoons which all looked to impound seawater at high tide, letting it out again on the low tide. The Wildlife Trusts did not support any of these five options, and believe that a barrage from Cardiff to Weston would have a devastating impact on the Estuary.
The outcomes of the government study said that that there wasn’t a strategic case for public investment in a Severn Tidal Scheme and that the government would certainly not support a proposal in the life of this parliament. The environmental assessment concluded that a full Cardiff to Weston Barrage would result in the loss of half of the intertidal habitat of the Estuary.
But here we are again, only three years since those conclusions, and a new proposal is on the table. A private consortium, Hafren Power, are proposing a full Cardiff to Weston barrage. They are generating much political and media attention, and requesting a level of financial support from Government, but based on what.
We have not seen any details of the proposals, and nor does it appear has anyone else. Hafren Power claim that their low head barrage proposal would have far less impact then the barrage proposed in the feasibility study. However, we need to see details of the proposal to assess what the impacts would actually be.
As we said during the study, and are still saying now, we would like to see more innovative options been considered, that can harness the power of the Severn, without blocking the flow of the tide in such a devastating way. An approach has been put forward by RegenSW, which outlines most of the known ideas for marine energy generation for the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary system and proposes adopting a multi-technology approach. This should be investigated further.
To ensure the natural wonder of the Severn is preserved the government must make the right choice about harnessing the power of the Severn, ensuring the least environmentally damaging, most cost-effective option for generating energy in the Severn is selected.