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UK government asked to review Severn plans

05/06/09 by http://www.wave-tidal-energy.com

A consortium of NGOs is calling on the UK government to look again at the shortlist of tidal power schemes for the Severn Estuary tidal energy project published in January. The report, 'Severn Tidal Power - Review of "Interim Options Analysis Report", was prepared by the engineering consultancy Atkins on behalf of the WWF, WWT, National Trust, RSPB and the Wye and Usk Foundation, and suggests that the government’s shortlist of tidal power schemes for the Severn Estuary is 'seriously flawed' and should be scrapped.

The review, published today (8th May), says the list was drawn up based on out-of-date calculations and criteria weighted against more innovative and potentially more environmentally friendly projects. However, speaking at the Wave & Tidal 09 conference last week, Prof Roger Falconer of Cardiff University, was clear that the original report was fair and reasonable, and that some of the proposed alternatives were simply unworkable.

Prof Falconer had been carrying out hydro-environmentals modelling studies on the Severn tidal power project at Cardiff University.

The coalition is calling on Government to revisit the short-listing process to ensure a fair assessment of those projects, which, it claims, could give better value for the taxpayer.

The Atkins review claims that the original consultant's report, used by the government:

    * Contained no new power calculations for the different schemes. Instead, the sums were based on a 30-year-old study
    * Seriously underestimated the amount of electricity that could be produced by more innovative and potentially less environmentally harmful projects
    * May have seriously underestimated the cost of large and environmentally destructive schemes like the Cardiff-Weston barrage
    * Failed to establish a fair basis for comparing the proposed schemes
    * Gave too little weight to environmental impacts when considering the options.

As a result, the alliance is concerned comparisons made between the different schemes were biased against those involving new technology, which they believe could be less harmful to the estuary's special wildlife, ecology and landscape.

Martin Harper, Head of Sustainable Development at the RSPB, said: "The Government doesn’t need to rush to judgement on this. If they do, there is a serious risk they will pick the wrong project."

He concluded; "We have a real opportunity to build something on the Severn which becomes the gold standard for environmentally friendly tidal power and a template for other schemes around the world."

A copy of the Atkin's report can be found on the RSPB website
 

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