Severn Barrage Tidal Power
Severn Barrage Tidal Power
Find out more about the potential for the world's largest tidal power station - The Severn Barrage
tidal
The
Severn Barrage is a proposed
tidal power station to be built across the Bristol Channel (Severn Estuary). The River Severn has a
tidal range of 14 metres - the second highest in the world - making it perfect for tidal power generation.
The 15 billion pound
Severn Barrage would involve the construction of a 10 mile long
barrage (dam) between Lavernock Point south of Cardiff, Wales, and Brean Down in Somerset, England. The barrage would act as a bridge between England and Wales and will have an operational lifetime of up to 200 years.
Severn Barrage Electricity Generation
Along the length of the
Severn Barrage open
sluice gates would allow the tide to flow in. These gates would then be closed at
high tide trapping enormous quantities of water behind the barrage.
A total of 214
40MW turbines would be built into the barrage through which the trapped water would return at high pressure when the tide turns generating electricity. (In order to permit shipping to pass through the barrage an enormous set of
shipping locks would be constructed.)
The
tidal turbines along the barrage would generate the same amount of electricity as three of the latest nuclear power stations - 8.6 MW during flow and 2 MW on average. This would be sufficient to provide 5-6% of the current electricity usage of England and Wales.
Producing on average in excess of
17 billion kWh of electricity annually, the UK's
carbon emissions would be cut by 16 million tonnes each year (assuming Severn Barrage electricity replaced electricity which would otherwise be generated in coal-fired power stations) which equates to
3% of total current emissions.
Severn Tidal Power Group
The
Severn Tidal Power Group (STGP) is a consortium of engineering and construction companies (Balfour Beatty, Taylor Woodrow, Sir Robert McAlpine and Alstom) formed in 1981 to work on making the
Severn Barrage a reality. They suggest that the Severn Barrage could be constructed in just six to eight years for
£15 billion.
A total of 200,000 man years of
employment would be generated with a total of 35,000 jobs during the peak period of construction. They also suggest that a further 40,000 permanent jobs would be generated in Somerset and South Wales thanks to the benefits of the proximity of the new
Severn crossing point.
Environmental Effects of The Severn Barrage
The environmental effects of a barrage across the
River Severn would be enormous. The
WWF,
RSPB, and
Friends of the Earth have all launched campaigns against the plans to construct the Barrage pointing out that the effects on wildlife in the
Severn Estuary would be disastrous and irreversible.
The Severn Estuary is designated a
Special Area for Conservation. 85,000 migratory and wintering water
birds (waders including oystercatchers, curlews, dunlins, ringed plovers etc) depend on the mud-flats which would be lost as a results of construction of the Barrage. In addition
coastal erosion would be increased in some locations while additional
silting would occur in others. The Barrage would also increase the likelihood of
flooding along the coast on the seawardside.
The effect on
marine life would not be so extreme since the water in the Severn Estuary contains a lot of silt brought up from the seabed by the effects of the
tidal range.
La Rance Tidal Power
There is still only one large scale commercial tidal power station in the world -
La Rance Tidal Power Plant in Brittany, France. This currently generates
240MW of power and has been in operation for over 40 years without mechanical breakdown.
Article Last Modified: 16:43, 31st May 2007
Recommended Related Articles
People who read this article also enjoyed the following articles:
La Rance Tidal Power PlantFind out La Rance experimental tidal power plant in France
Article Last Modified: 15:32, 19th Aug 2008tidal | waveWorlds First Open Sea Tidal TurbineRead about the first open-sea tidal turbine generator off Lynmouth, Devon
Article Last Modified: 16:13, 22nd Jan 2007tidalIntroduction to Tidal PowerFind out more about tidal power
Article Last Modified: 16:42, 31st May 2007tidal | educationNew York Tidal Power Project200kW tidal power turbines installed in NY East River
Article Last Modified: 15:59, 11th Jan 2007tidal | newsTidal TurbinesFind out more about underwater power generation using tidal turbines
Article Last Modified: 16:10, 22nd Jan 2007tidalAlderney Tidal and Wave PowerPlans proceeding for Alderney tidal power and wave power projects
Article Last Modified: 13:38, 11th Jan 2007tidal | waveSolar Power for Europe from SaharaRead about plans to power EU entirely from solar electricity generated in Sahara Desert
Article Last Modified: 09:43, 23rd Jul 2008solar | newsDIY 2kW Wind TurbineRead about a home built 2kW wind turbine constructed from scrap
Article Last Modified: 08:46, 4th Oct 2007wind | recyclingMiniWind Wind TurbinesFind out more about the MiniWind range of wind turbines
Article Last Modified: 13:33, 1st Aug 2008wind | shoppingBuilding a WaterwheelThe story of the construction of a DIY waterwheel in the UK
Article Last Modified: 14:16, 6th Jun 2008hydro | education
|
|
£39.99 
