Scotland's Sigma Offshore Joins $5.5 Billion Severn Tidal Fence Project

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Scottish engineering and project management company Sigma Offshore Limited (Aberdeen, Scotland) has been recruited by the Severn Tidal Fence (STF) group to assist in the feasibility study for the development of a tidal fence across the River Severn Estuary between England and Wales.

In July, the United Kingdom's Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) launched the Severn Embryonic Technology Scheme (SETS) as an effort to investigate potential tidal power technologies that could support the generation of power from the massive tidal range of the Severn without any adverse environmental impact.

Led by IT Power (Basingstoke, England), the STF Group includes CleanTechCom Limited, a Scottish division of Woodshed Technologies Limited (Melbourne, Australia); Marubeni Europe plc (London, England), part of Marubeni Group (TYO:8002) (Tokyo, Japan); environmental engineering firm Metoc plc (Liphook, England), BMT Fleet Technology Limited (Kanata, Ontario), New and Renewable Energy Center (London) and the University of Edinburgh. The U.K. government has contracted the STF Group to conduct the feasibility study as a part of the SETS program.

Sigma was included in the group by virtue of its specific technical expertise in the oil and gas sectors. The firm will investigate the civil engineering aspects of the proposal, including design of the fence, construction methods, and costs. Sigma will begin work on the project later this month.

The proposed Severn tidal fence will be made of a line of turbines installed underwater with maximum water-flow, while allowing river traffic to pass unimpeded above them. Two sites are currently under consideration, with an outer fence to be located between Aberthaw in Wales and Minehead in England, and a 9-kilometer inner fence constructed between the estuary's two main islands. Development of the outer fence is estimated to cost about £3 billion ($5 billion). The project would have a capacity to generate 1,300 MW of electricity, equivalent to about 1% of the U.K.'s power requirements.

The Severn estuary has the second-highest tidal range in the world. The enormous tidal range causes the world famous Severn bore, a natural phenomenon that sends a large surge wave up to 7.5 metres tall at speeds of up to 27 kilometres per hour. The shape of the estuary funnels the incoming tide into an increasingly narrower area, with rapidly decreasing water depth, which causes the extreme wave.

A tidal barrage scheme to generate green electricity has been debated for more than 20 years. The latest scheme, a 16-kilometre barrier estimated to cost £15 billion ($24.7 billion), would generate up to 7% of the U.K.'s energy requirements. Such a barrage could possibly be used to carry road and rail traffic across the estuary in case of future demand. This would provide a boost to the local economy in terms of employment during the construction stage, and in tourism following project completion.

Proponents of the tidal fence concept point out that an underwater scheme would avoid the environmental problems that have been associated with the alternative barrage scheme. Among these problems are the possibility of increased local flooding, a reduction in fish stocks, damage to the habitat of local bird life, and impediments in shipping to ports such as Bristol and Cardiff.

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