UK: Severn Barrage Could Be Cheaper than Offshore Wind

February 4, 2013

On 30th January, Hafren Power – which plans to build an 18km (11 mile) tidal power station across the Severn Estuary to generate zero carbon electricity – pledged to work with all stakeholders to protect ports and wildlife.

Tony Pryor, Hafren Power’s Chief Executive, said: “We will deliver green, safe, secure and ultimately the cheapest electricity for Britain into the next century. The barrage will create 20,000 construction jobs and protect tens of thousands of properties from rising sea levels and storm surges.

“We believe this is a project whose time has come but it will not be at the expense of upstream port jobs, fish or birds. We are committed to working with everyone in the months and years ahead to show how new technology and planning can mitigate risks. We are determined to get it right.”

Hafren Power appeared before the UK parliamentary Energy and Climate Change Committee, which is examining the company’s proposals, on January 30th.

The barrage, between Brean in England and Lavernock Point in Wales, will generate on the ebb and flood of the second largest tidal range in the world at 14 metres – a potential energy source capable of meeting some 5 per cent of the UK’s annual electricity needs.

Its 1,026 turbines will generate 6.5GW, making it one of the biggest power stations in the world. It has a minimum lifespan of 120 years – far longer than any coal, gas or nuclear power station – and will probably operate for much longer than this.

A parliamentary bill is needed to authorise the project, together with an agreement to support the electricity price in the first 30 years, in line with the subsidy granted to other low-carbon energy generators.

“We expect that the price we will be able to negotiate will fall below offshore wind, and we hope close to or perhaps at the price nuclear power is currently negotiating,” Gregory Shenkman, chairman of Hafren Power, is cited by Bloomberg as saying.

“We plan to finance this project entirely from private sources, and it’s taken five to six years to get here so far. So far 18 million pounds has been spent, so there is money out there and it has been invested,” he pointed out.

Hafren Power summarises the project’s benefits:

It will cost up to £25 billion to build, privately financed by sovereign wealth funds and other infrastructure investors, of which around 80 per cent will be spent in the UK.
At least 20,000 workers in construction will be employed – including concrete and steel jobs in South Wales and turbine manufacture and maintenance divided between the Bristol area and South Wales during the nine year build.
It will indirectly create and support tens of thousands more jobs. Britain will be technology leader, able to export expertise.
There will be no material interference with present navigation patterns. Upstream ports, such as Bristol and Cardiff, will be accessed via deep, mid-channel locks.
Ports benefit from construction traffic and later on-going barrage maintenance.
Innovative bi-directional turbines that generate on ebb and flood tides – permitting broadly normal tidal patterns – will preserve 60 per cent more intertidal wildlife habitat than previous proposals. Hafren Power will invest up to £1 billion to create new compensatory habitats for birds. Slow turning turbines and the building of passes will minimise impact on fish.
Reliably meets an estimated 5 per cent (16.5 terawatt hours per year) of the UK’s annual electricity demand when fully operational in 2025 – the equivalent of 3,000 wind turbines or three to four nuclear reactors.
It’s the UK’s cheapest source of electricity on a levelised or lifetime cost basis.
It will save 7.1m tonnes of CO₂ annually.
It reduces Britain’s reliance on imported gas and help to counter-balance anticipated exploitation of shale gas, a fossil fuel.
It will defend 90,000 properties and 500km2 of flood plains from storm surges, tidal flooding and rising sea levels.
Calmer estuary waters upstream of the barrage will permit the development of extensive marina-style water sports and tourism. The barrage itself could become a major visitor attraction.