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Published:
May 7, 2008
Severn
Barrage scheme moves a step closer
 Plans
for a ten-mile barrage across the River Severn, from Brean Down
to Wales, moved closer this week with the appointment of an American
engineering company to study the proposals.
Parsons
Brinckerhoff, the company that built New York City’s first
subway system, will head a two-year assessment of the project,
which is expected to cost up to £15billion and could take
a decade to complete.
Pricewaterhouse
Coopers is also to advise the Government on financing and ownership
options, according to a statement from the Department for Business,
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
The
Parsons Brinckerhoff-led group will examine the scheme’s
environmental impact and explore two main technologies —
a conventional barrage, running between the English and Welsh
coasts, and a tidal lagoon. Both would harness the enormous tidal
range of the Severn, which at 14 metres is the second-highest
in the world, to drive electricity-generating turbines.
A
conventional barrage could be built at various locations, although
a study in 1989 recommended one running ten miles between Lavernock
Point, near Cardiff, to Brean Down (pictured) near Burnham-On-Sea.
This would have a capacity of 8,640MW and an estimated output
of 17 terawatt hours a year — providing about 5 per cent
of present UK electricity demand.
 The
alternative, a tidal lagoon, would need an artificial lake in
an area of shallow water with a high tidal range. It would fill
during a rising tide, gradually releasing the water afterwards
to drive turbines. This would probably be a smaller scheme generating
less power, but it might have a less damaging environmental impact.
John
Hutton, the Energy Secretary, said: “A Severn tidal power
project could be larger in size, output and cost than any other
energy project in this country. It’s therefore vitally important
that we undertake the most thorough and exhaustive study and contract
the right companies.“
According
to the Sustainable Development Commission, a barrage across the
Severn would produce clean and sustainable electricity for 120
years. It could have other uses, such as supporting a high-speed
rail or road bridge.
However,
opponents include Friends of the Earth and the RSPB, despite the
project’s green credentials. It would threaten the welfare
of migratory fish and destroy tidal flats and saltmarsh, damaging
the habitat of rare birds including the shelduck, teal, pintail,
dunlin and redshank - they claim.
The
Parsons Brinckerhoff-led consortium includes Black & Veatch,
ABPmer, HR Wallingford, Hartley Anderson and George Corderoy
RELATED
LINKS:
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to hear all sides of the debate
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New
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Green Party has
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Severn
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Huge
£650million Severn Barrage plan unveiled
Official
Severn Lake Website [External Link]
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