Tidal electricity plan branded 'expensive cop out'

A tidal lagoon should be created in the Severn Estuary to generate electricity, according to a report.

The Severn Estuary Commission rejected proposals for a large barrage spanning the Severn.

Instead, it said the UK and Welsh governments should back plans for a smaller project to harness the power of the tide on the England-Wales border.

But the RSPB warned lagoons "present significant risks to nature" that "must not be ignored", whilst former Labour Welsh secretary Lord Peter Hain called them a very expensive "cop out".

The commission said a tidal lagoon demonstration project – the first in the world – would boost the economy and provide a better understanding of tidal power.

Demand for electricity in the UK is likely to more than double by 2050, the commission said.

The Severn Estuary has one of the highest tidal ranges in the world, offering "a rare opportunity" for the UK.

There have been several proposals to build a barrage across the Severn, but without formal government support they failed to attract funding.

Environmental groups oppose building a barrage in the estuary – a highly-protected wetland of international importance.

Lagoons are formed by building a wall around a bay or on the coast to capture water when the tide comes in.

At low tide the water is released, turning turbines to generate electricity.

There have been proposals to build a lagoon in Swansea Bay.

One plan, which had the backing of the Welsh government, was thrown out by the Conservative UK government in 2018 because it did not offer value for money.

The Severn Estuary Commission report said the UK and Welsh governments should set up an organisation with the private sector to create the lagoon as a "commercial demonstration project".

It would show the potential for tidal power and measure the impact on the local environment.

They should also look at ways to compensate for any loss of habitat, it said.

The report added: "A lagoon project would provide both engineering experience and real-world monitoring of environmental effects.

"Development of a tidal lagoon therefore offers a positive alternative to a barrage."

Commission chair Andrew Garrad said if work began now a lagoon could be up and running within 10 years.

"It is a big thing and it's going to last for 120 years," he said.

"We know how to build a sea wall and the big turbines have been operating in hydro plant all over the world for decades.

"The commercial challenge is not engineering – it's logistics and money."

But Lord Hain, who quit as shadow Welsh secretary in 2012 to back proposals for a barrage between south Wales and Weston-super-Mare, called the lagoon proposals "very underwhelming, disappointing and confused".

"Lagoons do harness tidal power but as the Swansea project proved they are very expensive and are a cop out which won't harness the ginormous but untapped natural power of the Severn Estuary," he told BBC Wales.

"You'd need 50 lagoons cluttering up the estuary to rival a barrage which remains by far the best option: delivering cheap electricity with new bi-directional turbines which are fish friendly and generate baseload electricity because its lunar based and therefore predictable and almost constant."

The RSPB welcomed the commission's rejection of a barrage, which the charity called "environmentally unacceptable".

It also praised the report's "wider recommendations on strategic spatial planning for the estuary and better ecological monitoring to improve our understanding of this amazing natural system".

However RSPB Cymru head of nature policy and casework Annie Smith warned "tidal lagoons also present significant risks to nature that have not been overcome so far and must not be ignored".

"The protected habitats and wildlife of the estuary must be central to any further consideration of such development," she said.

"A rapid transition to renewable energy is a must if we are to decarbonise our economy and avoid catastrophic global heating, but this must be achieved in ways that do not further jeopardise our declining wildlife, or its ability to recover."

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds called on UK ministers to revive the plans, cancelled in 2018, for a Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon.

"Tidal power offers huge advantages to Wales, not only in generating electricity but in its potential to create well-paid jobs," she said.

"The UK government seems perfectly happy to spend large amounts on infrastructure in the south east of England, its time they made some investments in Wales."

A spokesperson for the UK government's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: "Every family in the country has paid the price of Britain's dependence on global fossil fuel markets.

"That is why we are sprinting to clean, homegrown energy, so the UK can take back control of its energy with cleaner, affordable power.

"Last year, our Contracts for Difference scheme supported six new stream tidal projects and we are open to considering well-developed proposals for harnessing the power of our coastlines, which demonstrate value for money."

Welsh government Economy Secretary, Rebecca Evans, said: "We want to make Wales a world centre for emerging tidal technologies, and the Severn Estuary is a source of immense potential energy as one of the highest tidal ranges in the world.

"I welcome the work of the Severn Estuary Commission and I look forward to working with the UK government and the Western Gateway to make sure that we can harness its potential whilst also protecting this unique asset."