History
• Interest in deriving large scale electrical power from the Severn Estuary began seriously in 1925 when an official study group was commissioned. A scheme of 800MW was investigated and although considered technically possible, it was prevented on economic grounds 1.
• In 1975 the authority charged with meeting and delivering electrical supply in the UK, the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB), published a study with evidence from Bristol and Salford universities to the Secretary of State’s Advisory Council on Research and Development for Fuel and Power. From the study, the council established that a barrage could not be commissioned unless the energy situation deteriorated significantly in order for such a project to become economically feasible 1.
• Building on the 1975 report, work continued from 1979 and 1986 at various levels which were initiated by the Department of Energy. Published in 1989, the scheme included a closed barrage 15.9km long with a total installed capacity of 8,640MW from 216 turbines. This would, on average, produce 17TWh annually; replacing approximately 8 million tonnes of coal or 17.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide 2.