Government takes the next step towards a Severn Barrage
27/06/2007 00:00:00The Severn Barrage
- The Severn Estuary is one of the largest estuaries in the UK. The estuary’s classic funnel shape, unique in the UK, helps give it the second highest tidal range in the world at more than 14 metres.
- The Severn Barrage is the name of a number of ideas for building a barrage from the English coast to the Welsh coast over the Severn tidal estuary that have been put forward since the since the 19th century.
- The building of such a barrage would be a huge engineering feat, comparable with some of the world's biggest construction projects. The impacts of a barrage on the people who live and work in the Severn Estuary would need careful consideration, together with how it might affect the significant economic interests in and around the Severn Estuary.
- A barrage would require compliance with a wide range of environmental legislation, including the EU Habitats and Wild Birds directives. The Severn Estuary is of National, European and International nature conservation significance - and so has been afforded the corresponding levels of legal protection. It is designated as both a Ramsar Site and Special Protection Area (SPA) under the EU Habitats Directive and is in the process of being designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The Estuary also comprises a series of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
- The Sustainable Development Commission is the Government's independent advisory body on sustainable development. The SDC has over the course of the last year been exploring the issues arising on tidal power - particularly in the context of a Severn barrage.
- A final report by the SDC setting out its position and advice to Government on the tidal power is expected shortly.
A Severn Barrage would harness the power of the Severn Estuary using the proven technology of a hydro-electric dam, but filled by the incoming tide rather than by water flowing downstream.
The project’s potential to provide 5% of total UK electricity demand from a renewable, British source will be examined alongside the impact on the natural environment, and social and economic aspects as well as the financing. The study will also look at the potential for other UK barrages.
John Hutton said:‘The Government will drive forward with delivering a step change in our use of renewable energy and will now start work on the feasibility of a Severn Barrage. This is a truly visionary project, unparalleled in scale, potentially generating 5 per cent of the UK's electricity from renewable sources. As we undertake this work, we must understand the true environmental, social and economic impacts of such a project. They are potentially considerable. But so too is the challenge of climate change. And we must all have open not closed minds about how we meet the energy needs of tomorrow. ‘
John Hutton will also establish and chair a new Ministerial committee which will include representation from interested Departments and the Welsh Assembly Government to take forward this work and ensure appropriate governance.
Areas that study would cover include:
• Social and economic aspects, including public acceptability
• Environmental impacts and how these could be mitigated
• Financing, risk and organisation of such a project, including impacts on the energy market
• Technical and engineering aspects
• Regional impacts / infrastructure, including transport implications
• Planning, consents and other regulatory issues
• The potential for other UK tidal power projects
