The great divide: Green dilemma over plans for UK Severn barrage

Britain's biggest engineering project since the Channel tunnel threatens to divide the environmental movement

Michael McCarthy, The Independent 27 Jan 09;

Britain's environmental movement was yesterday presented with its starkest choice yet: whether or not to support the world's largest-ever renewable energy project which will result in unprecedented ecological damage to one of our most important natural habitats.

The giant £20bn Severn barrage, which would stretch 10 miles from Lavernock Point near Cardiff to Brean Down near Weston-super-Mare, would harness the tides to generate up to 5 per cent of the UK's electricity needs – the equivalent of eight typical coal-fired power stations. This is crucially important in the fight against climate change.

But environmentalists fear that by blocking the Severn estuary completely, the barrage would destroy vast areas of mudflats and mashes, which are vital feeding grounds for tens of thousands of wading birds, and prevent migratory fish such as salmon and eels from ascending rivers to spawn. Other environmentalists think such a large project would divert resources away from other key renewable technologies such as wind power.

Yesterday the barrage appeared on a shortlist of five renewable energy schemes for the Severn estuary indicating that the project, which the Government is known to favour, is moving closer to formal acceptance. The shortlist will now be the subject of a public consultation and a final decision will be taken by 2010.

But the proposal is causing real difficulties for Britain's green movement, whose members are united in the need to take action against global warming, yet view with deep dismay the unprecedented ecological damage a Severn barrage would undoubtedly bring about. The dilemma could not be more acute: on the one hand, the prospect of more renewable energy from one place than is currently produced in the entire UK; on the other, the virtual wiping out of one of Britain's most important wildlife sites. The dilemma will only increase as the imperative of countering climate change with major developments runs up against the damage to the natural world which such large-scale schemes may cause.

The Government's official green advisers, the Sustainable Development Commission, thinks the barrage should be built if it can pass two tests: that new wildlife habitats can be created to compensate for those lost and that the project remains in public ownership. The SDC favours it because with the Severn having the second highest tidal range in the world – the difference between high and low tides can be as much as 45ft – the energy-producing potential of a barrage is enormous, capable of generating more than eight gigawatts of power.

However, Friends of the Earth believe it would simply be too damaging and divert too much money that could be better spent fighting climate change in other ways. Greenpeace agrees it has potential but thinks the Government should give priority to wind power. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Wildlife Trusts and the Government's own wildlife watchdog, Natural England, are all concerned over the impact on wildlife.

"It is hugely disappointing to see the Government still pushing forward with the environmentally destructive option of a Cardiff-Weston barrage," said Martin Harper, the RSPB's head of sustainable development.

"Climate change threatens an environmental catastrophe for humans and wildlife and we urgently need to find low and zero carbon alternatives to our insatiable appetite for fossil fuels, so harnessing the huge tidal power of the Severn has to be right. But it cannot be right to trash the natural environment in the process. The final scheme must be the one that generates as much clean energy as possible while minimising harm to the estuary and its wildlife. We know the Cardiff-Weston Barrage would destroy huge areas of estuary marsh and mudflats used by 69,000 birds each winter and block the migration routes of countless fish."

Natural England's chief executive Helen Phillips said yesterday: "Tackling climate change requires us to make a step change in the way we think about renewable energy but we have to ensure that the decisions we make stand the test of time and do not leave a legacy of environmental destruction in their wake."

There is little doubt that a barrage would destroy more wildlife habitat than any other British construction project in modern times. The Severn Estuary, where the celebrated naturalist Sir Peter Scott founded Slimbridge, the wildfowl refuge which became one of the world's most famous nature reserves, provides an 86,000-acre feeding ground for wild swans, geese and many thousands of wading birds, such as dunlin, turnstone, oystercatcher and ringed plover, from all over Europe.

Under EU wildlife habitat laws, if the Government were to go ahead, it would have to find alternative compensatory habitat – mudflats and marshes – which might be as much as 40,000 acres, and which might cost anything up to £3bn.

But that is unlikely to hold the Government back, such will be the temptation to grab that massive 5 per cent renewable energy boost from a barrage – for in December ministers took on the enormous obligation, in an EU-wide deal, of sourcing 20 per cent of total UK energy demand from renewables by 2020. Twenty per cent of total energy (which includes heating and transport) means finding about 40 per cent of electricity from renewables – nearly 10 times the current figure of about 4.5 per cent.

The Herculean size of that task means the Government is very likely to go for the barrage, especially as the onshore wind industry is suffering strongly from the rise in the euro against the pound, meaning turbines made in Germany and Denmark are now about a third dearer than they were a year ago.

Apart from the main barrage, four other shortlisted schemes were announced by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, David Miliband, yesterday. They are: Shoots barrage, further upstream which would generate around 1GW; Beachley barrage, an even smaller scheme just above the river Wye, which would generate around 625MW; Bridgwater Bay lagoon, a proposal which would impound a section of the estuary on the coast from east of Hinkley Point to Weston-super-Mare, which could generate 1.36GW and Fleming lagoon, a similar scheme which would generate the same amount of power from a section of the Welsh shore between Newport and the Severn road crossings.

Mr Miliband acknowledged fighting climate change involved "tough choices" and said: "The five schemes shortlisted are what we believe can be feasible but this doesn't mean we have lost sight of others. Half a million pounds of new funding will go some way to developing technologies still in their infancy, like tidal reefs and fences. We will consider the progress of this work before any final decisions are taken."

Is it the right decision to build the barrage?

Andrew Lee: Yes

Climate science is telling us that we will have to reduce our carbon emissions to near zero by 2050, if the rest of the world is to have any chance to develop at all, so we must take all options for Severn tidal power very seriously indeed. In our report Turning the Tide, the SDC felt that a Cardiff-Weston barrage could be sustainable if it passed two tough tests. The first is EU law: breaching the habitats and birds directives would set a dangerous precedent. The second is the public interest – we said that any scheme must be publicly managed and owned. The barrage is a player for 2050, as are the newly emerging tidal fence and tidal reef technologies which might have less environmental impact. Ironically, a smaller scheme could also have significant environmental impact, while being too small to help much in the energy mix and hived off entirely to the private sector to boot.

Andrew Lee is chief executive of the Sustainable Development Commission

Gordon James: No

For the amount of energy produced, a Severn barrage would be too damaging to the ecological features and species of international importance in the estuary – even given that climate change and sea-level rise would be gradually affecting habitats. At a cost of around £15bn it would be uneconomic, and public funds for "climate mitigation" projects could be better spent generating more energy in a shorter period of time from alternative renewable and or low-carbon schemes. The barrage would preclude the building of large tidal lagoon impoundments and other tidal schemes in the Severn estuary from Bridgwater Bay eastwards, which may amount to considerable electricity and storage potential, and it would generate large amounts of electricity in two pulses of around four hours each day,which would not necessarily match high demand, and create problems for the national grid.

Gordon James is a director of Friends of the Earth Cymru

Huge barrage plan makes estuary shortlist
Emily Beament, Press Association The Independent 26 Jan 09;

A 10-mile barrage across the Severn is among five projects on a shortlist for potential schemes to harness the tidal power of the estuary published by the Government today.

Two innovative "lagoon" schemes, which would impound a section of the estuary without damming it, and two smaller barrages are also on the list.

Publishing the proposed shortlist today, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said ministers had not "lost sight" of other innovative plans, including a huge "reef" project and tidal fences, which had been on a list of 10 schemes under consideration.

He announced £500,000 of funding to develop the new technologies such as the tidal reefs, which supporters say could harness the power of the estuary without causing the environmental damage associated with a barrage.

And he said progress on those technologies would be considered before any final decisions on a tidal power scheme for the Severn estuary were made.

The proposed shortlist, which is now being put out to public consultation, is as follows:

* The Cardiff-Weston barrage - a 10-mile scheme stretching from near Cardiff to near Weston-super-Mare which could generate up to 5 per cent of the UK's energy needs;

* Shoots barrage - a scheme further upstream which would generate around 1GW, equivalent to a large fossil fuel plant;

* Beachley barrage - an even smaller scheme, just above the Wye River, which would generate around 625MW;

* Bridgwater Bay lagoon - a proposal which would impound a section of the estuary on the coast between east of Hinkley Point and Weston-super-Mare, which could generate 1.36GW;

* Fleming lagoon - a similar scheme which would generate the same amount of power from a section of the Welsh shore between Newport and the Severn road crossings.

The Severn, which has the second-largest tidal range in the world, has the capacity to provide significant amounts of "green" electricity but conservationists fear some of the plans for the estuary could be hugely damaging to wildlife.

For example, the Cardiff-Weston barrage could destroy between 11,000 and 15,000 hectares of saltmarsh and mudflats, which under European law would have to be replaced with compensatory habitat elsewhere at an estimated cost of £1 billion to £3 billion.

Mr Miliband said there were tough choices to be made in fighting climate change, the "biggest long-term challenge we face".

"Failing to act on climate change could see catastrophic effects on the environment and its wildlife, but the estuary itself is a protected environment, home to vulnerable species including birds and fish," he said.

"We need to think about how to balance the value of this unique natural environment against the long-term threat of global climate change."

He went on: "The five schemes shortlisted today are what we believe can be feasible, but this doesn't mean we have lost sight of others.

"Half a million pounds of new funding will go some way to developing technologies still in their infancy, like tidal reefs and fences.

"We will consider the progress of this work before any final decisions are taken."

A tidal fence project over part of the Cardiff-Weston line with tidal stream turbines to harness the ebbing and flowing tides, and a reef proposal on the line of the outer barrage, which would have included floating turbines, were on the long list but not today's shortlist.

The biggest barrage proposal, an "outer barrage" which would have stretched from Minehead to Aberthaw, has not been included in the shortlist.

Neither has a barrage which would have been similar in size to the Cardiff-Weston scheme but would have landed at Hinkley rather than Brean Down on the English side.

And a 0.6-mile (1km) wide barrage on the Cardiff-Weston line, which would have had a wave farm and four marinas, has also been left off.

All 10 projects from the long list, and the proposed shortlist, will now be subject to a three-month consultation, after which the Government will publish a final shortlist.

Those five projects will be considered in more depth, with a view to making a final decision on how best to harness the energy of the Severn estuary in 2010.

The two-year multimillion-pound feasibility study by the Government aims to assess the costs, benefits and impacts of a tidal scheme in the Severn and identify a single preferred project from the options that have been proposed.

Welsh Assembly Government Environment Minister Jane Davidson said: "Harnessing the power of the Severn estuary ties could make a significant contribution towards achieving the UK targets for renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions, but we must ensure that environmental issues are taken fully into account.

"The shortlisted schemes are based on relatively well understood hydroelectric technologies, with a mix of existing and new engineering structures.

"It is proposed that the economic, social and environmental impacts of these be studied further in the second phase of the Government study."

The barrage proposals in particular have attracted controversy, with conservation groups concerned over the level of environmental damage they could do.

A study for the RSPB suggested the 12-mile "reef" could be cheaper and less damaging to wildlife than a barrage.

While a barrage would effectively dam the estuary, flooding huge areas of tidal habitat upstream of the construction, the reef would not hold back the full height of the tide and therefor have less impact on those sites.

Martin Harper, head of sustainable development at the RSPB, said: "It is hugely disappointing to see Government still pushing forward with the environmentally destructive option of a Cardiff-Weston barrage.

"We believe the focus should shift to innovative and potentially less- damaging alternatives like a tidal reef or tidal fence.

"The announcement of £500,000 to develop these schemes is very welcome, but it makes no sense to leave them off the shortlist.

"By excluding them, Government is excluding what could be the most environmentally benign options from its assessment of environmental impacts."

Natural England, the Government's conservation agency, said it was right to consider harnessing the power of the Severn estuary.

But the project should not go ahead without a detailed consideration of its environmental impacts and and a wider assessment of whether there were better ways to meet the drive towards renewable energy.

Helen Phillips, Natural England's chief executive, said: "We cannot sacrifice an environment as sensitive as the Severn estuary without resolving, once and for all, whether there are better alternatives.

"We need to look at renewable energy and energy conservation in the round and satisfy ourselves that tidal power in this area - with all the environmental consequences that go with it - really is the best route to take."

The Wildlife Trusts expressed concern that schemes where shortlisted at an early stage in the feasibility study, warning that it favoured proven technology - barrages - which would be highly damaging environmentally.

The Trusts said a barrage would destroy habitat on which species of bird such as shelduck, dunlin, redshank, teal, European white fronted geese and pintail depend.

Migrating fish species, such as salmon, trout and eel, would also be at risk.

The Trusts acknowledged the Government's commitment to funding for innovative technologies but said less environmentally damaging schemes such as the reefs should have made it on to the shortlist.

Mr Miliband and Ms Davidson presented the shortlist this morning at a stakeholders conference in the hands-on science museum in Bristol.

They were joined by minister of state for the DECC Mike O'Brien MP.

Addressing concerns that a number of the schemes would have a detrimental impact on the bio-diversity of the Severn estuary, Mr Miliband told a press conference: "The impact of catastrophic climate change, or dangerous climate change on biodiversity is extremely significant.

"If you had water levels rising by a metre for example, that would have a very bad, very negative effect on the Severn estuary.

"There are issues, of course, around the local environmental effects of the kind of technologies that are on the table.

"But I think you also have to take into account the wider climate effects and their potential impact on biodiversity. That's part of the process we are embarking upon.

"Of course climate change is overwhelming and important, but part of the next stage of the process is specifically looking at the biodiversity impact and the compensatory measure that might be necessary."

While coastal tidal lagoons were included on today's shortlist alongside the more conventional barrage proposals, Friends of the Earth Cymru criticised the Government's failure to pursue offshore lagoon proposals.

Friends of the Earth Cymru director Gordon James said: "Offshore tidal lagoons offer the best option for harnessing the huge renewable energy potential of the Severn estuary - their exclusion from the Government's shortlist is utterly incomprehensible and raises serious concerns about the consultation process.

"The development of tidal lagoons would have delivered huge quantities of green power more cheaply and quickly than a barrage, and with less impact on the environment.

"Ministers must abandon their fixation with the Severn barrage and invest in more effective and less damaging alternatives instead."


Environmentalists react angrily to shortlisted projects for Severn estuary
Biodiversity at risk as shortlist sidelines greener options in favour of big projects, say campaigners
Alok Jha, guardian.co.uk 26 Jan 09;

Environmentalists have reacted angrily to the government's proposed shortlist of projects for what could become the UK's single biggest renewable energy project. Campaigners are dismayed that the smaller, more environmentally friendly ideas for harnessing the power of the tides in the Severn estuary have been sidelined in favour of larger projects that threaten to destroy the local area's biodiversity.

The five projects selected by the government today range from a 10-mile barrage across the entire estuary from Cardiff to Weston-super-mare to a series of tidal lagoons on the English and Welsh coasts. The government is committed to generating 20% of the nation's energy from renewable sources by 2020 and the Severn estuary, with a tidal range of 14 metres (the second largest tidal range in the world), could make a major contribution. But set against that is the impact of large schemes on wildlife, ports and coasts.

Top of the government's proposed shortlist is the largest barrage proposal, Cardiff-Weston. It could generate up to 8GW of electricity, cost around £14bn to build and could supply 5% of the UK's electricity needs. Two smaller barrage projects further upstream – Shoots and Beachley – also made it to the short list of five. Between them they could generate around 1.65GW of electricity.

"We're talking about an extraordinary resource of tidal power which, if properly deployed, could have enormous benefits in terms of meeting our renewable energy targets and our wider climate change objectives," said the climate change and energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said it was possible that more than one project could be selected.

But campaigners criticised the proposals. Martin Harper, head of sustainable development at the RSPB said it was "hugely disappointing" that the Cardiff-Weston barrage option was on the short list. "Harnessing the huge tidal power of the Severn has to be right, but it cannot be right to trash the natural environment in the process. The final scheme must be the one that generates as much clean energy as possible while minimising harm to the estuary and its wildlife."

"The Cardiff-Weston Barrage would destroy huge areas of estuary marsh and mudflats used by 69,000 birds each winter and block the migration routes of countless fish."

Miliband acknowledged that biodiversity was an important issue and said that not tackling climate change through renewable energy schemes would pose its own risk to wildlife, through rising sea levels. "If you had water levels rising by a metre, that would have very bad effects on the Severn estuary," he said.

Two tidal lagoon projects on the coasts at Bridgewater Bay and Fleming also made the shortlist. Tidal lagoons involve retaining water along a section of the estuary as the tide comes in and then releasing it at low tide to generate electricity.

But Friends of the Earth Cymru said proposals for offshore tidal lagoons had been excluded. The group said this technology could deliver large amounts of green electricity quickly, more cheaply and with less environmental impact than the larger Severn barrage ideas favoured by government.

"Their exclusion from the government's shortlist of technologies being assessed is utterly incomprehensible," said FOE Cymru director Gordon James. "We have long suspected that the UK government has already decided on the Cardiff to Weston Severn barrage, and that this consultation process is little more than a cosmetic exercise."

Earlier this month, the Guardian revealed allegations that the government's engineering consultants, Parsons Brinckerhoff, had miscalculated the costs of a tidal lagoon project of the kind championed by FOE. The report sent by the consultants to ministers said the tidal lagoon option would be eight times more expensive than the barrage scheme and would not generate as much power, claims denied by FOE and the designers of the offshore lagoons.

David Elliott, co-director of the energy and environment research unit at the Open University, said a single big barrage was problematic in terms of harnessing energy. "It will only provide two short bursts of power each 24 hour lunar cycle." He said building several smaller tidal turbines around the coast that could operate at different times would be a better soltution.

"The fact that we've got a shortlist of five doesn't mean that we will pick one," said Miliband. "It's possible we have more than one project."

The five projects selected are those that the government's engineering consultants, Parsons Brinckerhoff, deemed to be based on the most proven technology. Not included are tidal reefs and tidal fences: the former would deploy a series of slow-moving, fish-friendly turbines over a purpose-built causeway in the estuary while the latter involves building only a partial barrier between Cardiff and Weston-super-mare. Both these proposals are acknowledged as having minimal impact on the local environment.

Miliband announced that £500,000 would be available to further develop such technologies. "We recognise there are more innovative, less tried and tested and more speculative technologies including tidal reefs and fences, which deserve a fair crack of the whip," said Miliband. "They're not on the shortlist because they don't meet the technical standards that have been rightly set."

The government will now seek further consultation on the Severn plans with final decisions on which projects would be given the green light to be made in 2010.

At the launch of the shortlist, Miliband also hinted that some funding for the bigger projects would have to come from the public purse. "We acknowledge the sheer scale of the capital cost is very challenging. However, for future generations, given the demands of climate change and given the demands around renewable energy, it would be wrong to rule [them] out at this stage simply on the grounds of cost. We are thinking here of a project that could last 120 years."