Government criticises Severn Barrage plans

The House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee has announced it will not support the proposed venture by Hafren Power to build a £25bn tidal barrage across the Severn Estuary. 

Plans for a £25bn tidal power generation scheme across the Severn estuary, reported here by GeoJames, have been criticised by an influential panel of MP’s. The House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee report, published on Monday, seriously questioned the plans of Hafren Power on both economic and environmental grounds. The report concluded that the company had failed to answer serious environmental questions.

More detailed [and] robust evidence about Hafren Power’s proposal and claims is needed. We cannot recommend the Hafren Power scheme as currently presented to us. – Tim Yeo (Chair of the committee) speaking to BBC Radio Wales

The report’s conclusion was welcomed by Bristol Port Company as well as environmental campaigners such as The Country Land and Business Association who have opposed the project since its infancy. Mike Birkin, from Friends of the Earth, claimed that Monday’s report “should bang the final nail in the coffin for the current Severn barrage proposal”.

GeoJames