The BBC report that the UK Government is still pursuing the idea of a tidal barrage across the Severn estuary despite reports that the plan could be scrapped altogether.
They say that newspaper reports suggest that the now 23 billion pound project will be shelved as part of a government cost-cutting drive. But the Department of Energy and Climate Change say that it is waiting on the results of a feasibility study due to be published next year.
Even then the project it is likely to take over ten years to come to fruition and will cost much more than the current projected price.
Welsh Liberal Democrats are the only party to propose an alternative solution to this expensive white elephant. They have produced a paper in partnership with Liberal Democrats in the South West of England entitled ‘A Tidal Solution – The way forward’ in which they propose a range of measures which include:
* Swift progress towards the construction of a “Shoots” Barrage – close to the line of the second Severn Crossing, which could also carry a high speed rail link to relieve the 120 year old Severn Tunnel.
* An investigation into the possibility of the siting of slim-line wind turbines along the Shoots Barrage to maximise the potential energy that would be generated from this development.
* Urgent development of a pilot lagoon to the seaward side of this barrage.
* Sufficient research and development resources to be made available to progress the Tidal Reef proposal from Aberthaw to Minehead – devoting well in excess of the meagre £0.5m being made available by the Government for all research into alternative innovative options.
The paper, which has been adopted by both the Federala and Welsh Conference as policy says that taken together, a Shoots Barrage and pilot lagoon could provide well in excess of 1% of the UK’s electricity needs within the next 10 years.
It adds that together with an eventual Tidal Reef, which could be completed within a comparable timescale to a Brean Down-Lavernock Point Barrage the Lib Dems’ recommendations would produce upwards of 8% of current UK electricity demand from renewable sources, without the immense environmental impact of a large barrage.
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