U.K. Sinks Severn Tidal Barrage Project

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The U.K.'s new coalition government has axed one of the largest renewable energy projects in the country this week, claiming the proposed Severn Tidal Barrage would prove too costly. A two-year feasibility study into the project, which proposed building a tidal barrage across the Severn Estuary, would have cost as much as £34 billion ($53.8 billion), more than double the original budget estimate of £15 billion ($23.7 billion).

The 10-mile-wide dam would have stretched between Cardiff in Wales and Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, England, and would have been capable of generating about 5% of the U.K.'s total electricity. The Severn has the second-highest tidal swell in the world.

The possibilities of the Cardiff-Weston project and other smaller Severn schemes have been debated hotly for more than 25 years, and various groups have proposed building barrages. Leading the charge has been the Severn Tidal Power Group (STPG), a joint venture formed in 1984 by six of the U.K.'s leading power, engineering and construction companies.

However, the new Severn study found that there was "no strategic case for major public-sector investment in a large-scale energy project in the Severn estuary at this time. It would be very costly to deliver and very challenging to attract the necessary investment from the private sector alone."

Instead, the government reiterated its support for other renewable technologies, new nuclear power plants and fossil-fuel-fired plants with carbon-capture and storage technology. The Severn project will not be looked at again until at least 2015, according to the government.

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne, said: "The study clearly shows that there is no strategic case at this time for public funding of a scheme to generate energy in the Severn estuary. The costs and risks for the taxpayer and energy consumer would be excessive compared to other low-carbon energy options. However, with a rich, natural marine-energy resource, leading tidal-energy companies and universities, and the creation of the innovative Wave Hub facility, the area can play a key role in supporting the U.K.'s renewable energy future."

The study also looked at other Severn tidal projects, concluding that the Beachley Barrage and Welsh Grounds Lagoon are no longer considered feasible due to a sharp increase in construction costs. A lagoon across Bridgwater Bay, which would cost £17.7 billion ($27.84 billion), is considered potentially feasible, as is the smaller Shoots barrage, at a cost of £7 billion ($11.01 billion).

IIR's Renewable Energy Database provides extensive coverage on the wind energy, geothermal, hydroelectric, landfill gas-to-energy and utility-scale solar power plants throughout North America, and is now expanding coverage across the world.

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