May 2007
Waves of Change
It is no secret that Britain is facing an impending energy crisis. With unstable energy markets, animosity towards nuclear power and the scaling back of fossil fuel sources, alternatives are desperately being sought to power the nation.
An old solution in a new incarnation, that has received political backing in Wales and Westminster has been a plan for a massive £14bn tidal barrage across the Bristol Channel. Proponents say that the Severn’s tidal range which approaches 14m, the second highest in the world (Canada’s Bay of Fundy being the highest), is ideal for the project. The barrage, made up of 216 turbines, would cross 10miles of the Channel and potentially provide as much energy as three nuclear power stations – or 6% of the UK’s energy needs. The La Rance barrage in Brittany, although significantly smaller (3% of the size), has been going strong for over 3 decades without problems. Indeed, a second tidal power project is already in operation off the coast of Devon, near Lynmouth. Roger Hull of the Severn Tidal Power Group, the consortium behind the latest proposal of how to implement the barrage, has stated that it would take only 6 years to build and could be functional by 2017.
"It’s a proven technology. This is a big application because, of course, if you want to generate a lot of electricity, you need a big project to do so. It’s definitely a good way of producing this predictable renewable power that does not produce any carbon dioxide at all. So it’s very climate friendly."
Wales's energy minister, Andrew Davies, was effusive in his praise of the scheme: "The barrage would be equivalent to around two nuclear power stations operating continuously, lasting not 40 to 50 years with a problematic legacy but operating for 150 years plus."
Strangely then, it is not the technology that provides a barrier to the scheme, nor local politicking, rather it is the barrage’s potential effect on the environment.
Having submitted recommendations on the plan to the government’s energy review panel, the Welsh Assembly has received both criticism and support from environmentalists over then plan. Ecologists are leading the campaign against, warning that the construction of such a structure would cause immense ecological damage, including the loss of vast areas of mudflats, displacing over 80,000 waterfowl. Tim Stowe of RSPB Cymru cited the effect to "only be negative on the birds that use [the area]. Once you have built it, you cannot take it away." Furthermore, there are the physical geography concerns of silting, possible coastal erosion and the weakening of the Severn bore. Additional issues of industry discharges into the barrage area and the ability of large ships to navigate the river will also have to be addressed.
The lobby against the barrage has highlighted these concerns and have proposed a substitute system of tidal lagoons which would cover a lesser area and be dotted along a greater number of sites. Crucially, they would not block the free flow of the Severn and not affect the local wildlife too dramatically. Based on a prototype being designed at Swansea Bay, Friends of the Earth have come out as backers for the scheme. However, industry experts cite lower outputs and concerns that the scheme may not be economic – a vital factor in the scheme as it is to be entirely privately financed.
Ultimately though, plans for a Severn barrage power scheme in one form or another have been around since the 1920s. Either the political will was lacking, or costs were seen as prohibitive. Even now, with ever growing concerns over energy security and the environment, building such a vast structure in the near future seems a distant likelihood given the UK’s recent experiences with big construction projects. Thus our turn to green energy is still some way off.
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