Severn Tidal Power Feasibility Study - Introductory Page

The tidal energy resource of the Severn Estuary is on a nationally significant scale. It has the potential to contribute to UK objectives to deliver a secure supply of low carbon electricity and to our 2020 energy targets. Previous studies, including the recent report from the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) ‘Turning the Tide: Tidal Power in the UK’ indicate that the huge 14metre tidal range of the Estuary – the second highest in the world – has the potential to generate some 5% of the UK’s electricity from a renewable indigenous resource, within sustainable development principles. However, as the SDC advised, more work is needed to assess the pros and cons before a decision could be taken to go ahead with a scheme.

Following the SDC report, the Government is now carrying out a study looking at the feasibility of a tidal power scheme in the Estuary. The study, building on past studies, is gathering and assessing up-to-date high level evidence to enable Government to decide, in the context of the Government’s energy and climate change goals and the alternative options for achieving these, and after public consultation, could Government support a tidal power scheme in the Severn Estuary and if so on what terms?

Further information about the feasibility study can be found on the links at the left and right hand side of this page. You can also contact the team at severntidalpowerunit@berr.gsi.gov.uk if you have any queries that aren’t answered by the information on this site, or if you would like to sign up to our e-newsletter.

Latest Feasibility Study Updates

  • The Prime Minister has announced the creation of the new Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), headed by Secretary of State Ed Miliband. This means the Energy teams from BERR (including the Severn Tidal Power team) and the Climate Change teams from Defra have now left BERR and Defra to join DECC. These web pages will be moved to the new DECC website shortly. If you would like us to e-mail you with our new web address (and you don’t already receive our e-newsletters) please e-mail us at severntidalpowerunit@berr.gsi.gov.uk. The Welsh Assembly Government web address remains the same.
  • A Technical and Engineering Expert Panel has been appointed to review the technical outputs of the feasibility study and provide us with independent engineering advice.
  • The next key milestone is a first internal review, now likely to be at the end of this year. This will look at whether any issues have emerged so far to suggest that the Government is not interested in promoting a Severn scheme. For example, at this early stage, are there any issues - eg costs, environmental consequences, effect on the local economy, impact on the energy market, financial or technical feasibility - which are simply unacceptable and would not benefit from further study.

Note that a decision to continue the study doesn't mean that Government is certainly going ahead with a Severn tidal project. At the end of the feasibility study there will be a full cost benefit analysis and a fuller picture of the expected impacts which will inform the decision, after a second public consultation (2010), on whether Government could support a scheme.

If the study continues, we expect to run our first 3-month public consultation early next year inviting views on:

  • the scope of the Strategic Environmental Assessment that is being carried out within the feasibility study
  • which of the 10 possible Severn tidal power schemes under consideration will be short-listed for detailed impact assessment during 2009
  • how the feasibility study is being conducted, the issues it is considering and how these are being approached

 

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