A piece of very good news is that the proposed 'Severn Barrage', a mammoth project designed to exploit Wales' tidal range to serve the growing energy needs of England, may well be shelved so that newer and cleaner technologies can be tested. The Barrage is such a cumbersome waste of time that it would be quicker, and cheaper to test the alternative technologies like the tidal fence once proposed by Friends of the Earth and now being taken up by Rolls Royce, who say they can build one.
The Severn Barrage does have its backers though. Rhodri Morgan compared it favourably to China's Three Gorges Dam- one of the grossest human rights violations in the world, and the right-wing Vale Labour MP John Smith also supports the Barrage on the basis that "it will create more energy than any of the other projects". How this man is still in a job remains unknown.
It is encouraging to see that Plaid Cymru's South Wales Central AMs are opposed to the Barrage, although they don't oppose the alternatives on the table. Only a fool would want to leave the estuary and its remarkable tidal range as it is. Some kind of project is needed, but the Lavernock-Weston Barrage is simply out of the question for anyone who wants sustainability. As Adam Price pointed out, it's another Tryweryn but this time the water will be salty.
The UK Government's report on the Barrage didn't even acknowledge the existence of Wales. They do not have the interests of our communities or our energy needs at heart.
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3 comments:
Plaid was the first party to officiallt oppose the barrage, mainly down to the fact that it would cost an enormous amount of money, create huge environmnetal problems and actually be quite inefficient in terms of how long it could produce power for.
However, tidal lagoons are still a real possibility and Plaid very much supports them, along with a smaller barrage upstream and indeed the possibility of tidal fences.
Excellent news,
... now if we can just get them to drop that awful 'military acadamy' plan
Ian, not disagreeing with you but the Greens might well have opposed it straight away as well.
Welsh Connection, we might get our wish, the Tories don't think the sums add up. £14bn for 1,000 jobs doesn't sound like a good deal for the taxpayer.
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