Plans for the world’s largest renewable energy project—the controversial Severn tidal barrage—have been shelved, with the U.K. government saying public finances cannot stretch to meet its 34 billion pounds  bill. The price tag was estimated in a feasibility study commissioned by the government and released earlier this week.

With the second largest tidal range in the world, about 50 feet, the Severn estuary has been eyed for years as a potential energy source, particularly as the appetite for sustainable energy sources has been growing over the last few years. The U.K. has pledged to have 40 percent of its electricity generated from renewable sources by 2020 to meet European Union requirements.

The U.K. government had been examining different plans to build a 10-mile barrage to convert the energy of the Severn tide into enough power to supply 5 percent of Britain’s electricity needs. The barrage would have incorporated about 200 turbines.

But with the government now urgently trying to shave off 25 percent of public spending in the biggest public service cull since World War II—the expensive proposition has been sacrificed.

The announcement was welcomed by some conservation groups—including a coalition of 10 groups including the National Trust, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB,) and World Wildlife Fund—who have long had concerns over the impact on the wildlife of the river Severn estuary, which relies on a delicate ecosystem sustained by the ebb and flow of the tides.

Friends of the Earth’s Southwest campaigner Mike Birkin said in a statement, “The Cardiff to Weston barrage scheme has long been a cause of concern because of its potentially enormous impact on the environment and wildlife of the Severn estuary, which the government is legally committed to protect."

Martin Harper, head of sustainable development for the RSPB said, “A barrage like the one proposed between Cardiff and Weston-super-Mare would not only destroy huge areas of estuary marsh and mudflats used by 69,000 birds each winter, and block the migration routes of countless fish, but, as confirmed by this report, it would dramatically increase risk of flooding to residential properties."

But while they welcomed scrapping the Severn barrage, some environmentalists were scornful of another decision by the government to give the green light to eight more nuclear power plants, to be built near the sites of existing ones.

Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Huhne said, “The study clearly shows that there is no strategic case at this time for public funding of a scheme to generate energy in the Severn estuary. Other low-carbon options represent a better deal for taxpayers and consumers.”

He did identify environmental concerns as being one of the factors influencing the decision, but did not rule out the possibility of the barrage plans being unearthed again in the future.

It isn’t just environmentalists breathing a sigh of relief over the ditching of the barrage plans, the decision has made surfers smile as well. The Severn estuary’s massive tidal range whips up a tidal bore—big waves that form as tidal water moves quickly through a narrow inlet—that’s one of the biggest in the world.

The clean funnel shape of the estuary, which steadily narrows from five miles at the mouth of the river down to just 330 feet, creates the perfect conditions to generate the bore.

Surfing enthusiasts who regularly watch the Severn Bore had concerns that the barrage would have played havoc with their prize wave.

Phương Anh (theo Epoch Times)