Severn Estuary tidal project scrapped
The Government has scrapped the controversial wave power scheme planned at the Severn Estuary.
The proposed 10-mile damn that would run the length of Somerset to South Wales would have generated five per cent of the country’s energy, said supporters. However, Chris Huhne, energy secretary, said that a study of the proposal has revealed that the project would not be a strategic move.
Instead, plans have been announced to build eight new nuclear power stations by 2025. Plants have been proposed for Somerset, Gloucestershire, Suffolk, Lancashire and Anglesey.
The Severn barrage was set to use a hydro-electric dame to capture tidal energy from the ebb and flow of the tide as opposed to the river. The estuary houses the second-largest tidal range on the planet.
The project, however, has been deemed a high risk within a feasibility report and concluded that it will be too difficult to attract private investors. Mr Huhne said that the proposal will be kept as an option in the future, but that market conditions first must improve.
The study also shows that at the moment public funding is not healthy enough to support such a scheme. He added that there were other low carbon options that would prove a bett
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