Severn tidal power shortlist 'flawed," review finds

The Government’s shortlist of tidal power schemes for the Severn Estuary is “seriously flawed,” and should be scrapped, according to a review commissioned by an alliance of environmental organisations.

The alliance includes the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), WWF, WWT, National Trust, and the Wye and Usk Foundation.

Prepared by Atkins, the review says the Government’s list is based on out-of-date calculations and criteria weighted against more innovative and potentially more environmentally-friendly projects. The environmental coalition has responded by calling on Government to revisit the short-listing process to ensure a fair assessment of those innovative projects, which they say could give better value for the taxpayer.

Among the Atkins review’s findings are that the Government list:

• 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; and
• Gave too little weight to environmental impacts when considering the options.

“The Government doesn’t need to rush to judgment on this,” said Martin Harper, head of sustainable development at the RSPB. “If they do, there is a serious risk they will pick the wrong project. As this review shows, that could mean unnecessary damage to the environment, an oversized bill for the taxpayer and all for less electricity than is possible.”

Harper continued, “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.”