Severn Barrage plans revealed

The Sunday Times
January 25, 2009
Danny Fortson


ENERGY secretary Ed Miliband will unveil five proposals tomorrow for the Severn Barrage, the controversial tidal scheme that could become the country’s biggest source of renewable energy.
The announcement will be a step forward for a project that could generate up to 7% of Britain’s energy needs but which has failed to get off the ground since it was proposed after the 1970s oil shocks.
Several variations of a scheme to harness the strong currents of the Severn Estuary to generate electricity have been rejected over costs, possibly as high as £15 billion, or potential environmental damage.
Miliband told The Sunday Times, however, that the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions could finally make it viable.

“Climate change makes us want to look again at this kind of technology. This would make an important contribution to our renewable targets,” he said. “We can’t rule out anything when it comes to climate change.”
The Department of Energy and Climate Change will open a three-month public consultation on the proposals, which range from a 10-mile barrage between Brean Down, south of Weston-super-Mare, and Lavernock Point in Wales, to less-intrusive options such as an underwater tidal fence or lagoons.
Miliband will give fresh impetus to the new nuclear-building programme this week when he invites the industry to propose sites for new nuclear reactors. This will be based on criteria that the department will publish under its strategic-siting assessment.