Severn barrage a green "trailblazer"
Monday, 01 Oct 2007 15:36
The river Severn barrage would generate five per cent of the UK's electricity needs
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Wales secretary Peter Hain praised the Severn barrage this morning as a "trailblazer for clean, green energy" after visiting the site during a boat trip off the Welsh coast.
The controversial project was announced last week by enterprise and business secretary John Hutton.
It would create a hydro-electric dam from the English coast to the Welsh coast and is predicted to generate five per cent of the UK's electricity needs.
Environmental campaigners have raised concerns with the project as it will have an impact on the natural environment as well as on the people living and working in the estuary.
Mr Hain said this morning that he is a "firm believer" in generating more energy from renewable sources and described the barrage project as a "historic opportunity".
His comments follow a report from the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) which said the "enormous potential" of a Severn barrage must be balanced against the impact on the estuary.
"The announcement last week that the government will now start work on the feasibility of a Severn barrage is a huge step in the right direction, and now needs to start in earnest.
"It is right that we have a two-stage approach to the study, ensuring the study is transparent, meticulous and conclusive."
Friends of the Earth have described the project as "hugely expensive, environmentally damaging and legally questionable".
"In contrast, a series of large lagoons in the Severn estuary, possibly in conjunction with a Shoots barrage which could carry the London to south Wales rail link, could offer a far better solution to harnessing the enormous power of the Severn estuary," said FoE campaigner Neil Crumpton.
The RSPB described the SDC report as "not a green light for the barrage but something between red and amber".
"It would be far better to spend the £15 to £20 billion the barrage will cost on measures that will cut emissions more quickly," said RSPB conservation director Dr Mark Avery. "The Severn estuary is an irreplaceable refuge for wildlife."
The Severn, which has one of the largest estuaries in the UK, has a funnel shape which helps to give it the second highest tidal range in the world at more than 14 metres.
A barrage on the river would use the technology of a hydro-electric dam which would be filled by the incoming tide.