Published: May 24, 2007
Plans for Severn Barrage near Burnham come another step closer

Plans for a £14bn barrage to harness the tidal energy of the Severn estuary took taken a step forward on Wednesday (May 23rd) when Trade Secretary Alistair Darling said tidal power was "in its infancy" but the government wanted to encourage its development.

Stretching from south of Cardiff to Brean Down, near Burnham-On-Sea, the ten mile barrage could supply 5% of the UK's electricity, according to its backers - although some environmentalists fear it could have an impact on wildlife and might even cause flooding in the Burnham area.

The government's Energy White Paper was published in a statement by Mr Darling in the House of Commons. He said that he wanted to encourage tidal power but acknowledged that there were environmental hurdles to overcome.

Mr Darling said that the government needed to weigh-up the impact a barrage might have on the environment with the impact further carbon emissions would have on that environment.

"I think one of the environmental issues that has not yet been properly addressed is the balance to be struck between the impact on say, the River Severn, and the environmental gain that would come from not putting more and more carbon into the atmosphere," he said.

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