A new commission will look again at whether a barrage or tidal lagoons could be built in the Severn Estuary to generate green energy from the tides.
The estuary has the second largest tidal range in the world and previously-mooted schemes have been estimated to have huge potential to generate renewable electricity. Earlier schemes have never been taken forward, despite expensive feasibility work being done, amid opposition due to the impact on bird life in the Estuary, the impact on the port at Bristol as well as the cost.
In 2021 WalesOnline looked in detail at the potential for tidal power in the Severn and whether the increasing cost of electricity and new understandings of how to generate power from the Estuary were going to lead to the prospect of a barrage or lagoons being revisited. You can read this by clicking here.
Today's announcement comes a week after the Cardiff Capital Region, a group of ten councils in south-east Wales, announced it was to buy the shuttered Aberthaw coal-fired power station with the aim of facilitating the development of green energy projects.
Read more: Questions over £36.4m plan to use taxpayer cash to buy and redevelop Aberthaw Power Station
The commission will have an open remit to explore a range of options including looking at what energy technology exists, which areas would be appropriate and how environmental impacts can be minimised.
It will be made up of a range of experts working together to understand whether there is now a viable option for using the tidal power of the Severn to create energy for the UK.
The commission was agreed by the Western Gateway Partnership, the pan-regional partnership for south Wales and western England.
No decisions have been made about what a potential solution for getting power from the Severn might look like or whether any development will take place.
Katherine Bennett CBE, chair of the Western Gateway Partnership, said: “We’ve known for some time that the Severn has huge potential for creating clean renewable energy. With the second largest tidal range in the world, it has been estimated that this could create up to 7% of the UK’s total energy needs.
“Following new commitments to combat climate change at COP 26 and advances with technology, we want to have another look at the evidence to see whether there is a viable solution to harnessing this energy and protecting our environment. I look forward to seeing more announcements about this commission later this year.”
Jane Mudd, Leader of Newport City Council and Vice chair of the Western Gateway, said: “The time is right to look again at what could be an incredible source of clean, environmentally friendly energy on our doorstep.
“We need to play our part in finding solutions to the global climate crisis and the commission will have the expertise and independence it needs to explore whether using the Severn Estuary to create sustainable power is attainable and viable.”
The leader of Cardiff Cardiff City Council and Western Gateway board member Huw Thomas said that given the climate crisis and the rising cost of energy, that the option of tidal power needed to be explored. “Unlocking the tidal energy potential of the Severn Estuary is of particular significance to Cardiff," he said. "As is securing investment into the strategic rail infrastructure linking Cardiff to other core cities and to London. It's estimated that the Severn Estuary could supply 7 per cent of the UK's energy needs.
“The UK Government has so far not lent its support to such a scheme due to a perceived requirement for high levels of public investment and concerns over the environmental impact on designated areas in the Severn Estuary. However, the changing landscape of the climate emergency, energy insecurity, rising costs, and rapid technological improvements indicate that many of these policy, cost and environmental barriers may no longer be as significant. We want to find out just what could be done to harness this incredible energy resource."
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