The Government was urged today to harness tidal power to boost renewable energy. The Sustainable Development Commission found up to 10% of The UK's energy needs could be provided by its sea and rivers.
In a report, "Tidal Power in the UK", it outlined a range of technologies available to create power from rivers and lagoons. The commission called on ministers to embrace these with plans for a barrage across the Severn which it says could provide half of our tidal wave power capability.
The report said: "A Severn Barrage must be publicly led as a project and publicly owned as an asset to avoid short-termism decisions and ensure the long-term public interest. "Full compliance with European directives on the protection of habitats is vital, as is a long-term commitment to creating compensatory habitats on an unprecedented scale.
”But development of a Severn barrage must not divert government attention away from much wider action on climate change."
Commission chair Jonathon Porritt added: "The enormous potential for a Severn barrage to help reduce our carbon emissions and improve energy security needs to be balanced against the impact on the estuary’s unique habitat, as well as its communities and businesses."
However, Morgan Parry of WWF Cymru said: "Estuaries and coasts offer us a vast potential source of renewable energy and the Government is right to be looking at ways of harnessing this power, but WWF urges it to consider more economically viable and sustainable alternatives."
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