Coaster
Well-Known Member
Interesting story in today's Independent. I'm pleased. What do you think?
Severn Barrage
- Thread starter Coaster
- Start date
trapezeartist
Well-Known Member
Very interesting. I'm not sure whether I am pleased or not.
I do think the wildlife argument was nonsense. That was an argument applied to the Cardiff barrage too, and now Cardiff Bay is a mecca for wildlife.
However, in terms of capital cost, power generation and the impact in other aspects of life, I remain to be convinced either way. I know it's not a fashionable approach, but I need more facts before I can have an opinion.
How were boats going to pass through the barrage? (Remember there is a plan for a large container terminal at Avonmouth, as well as the impact on us leisure boaters and the existing commercial traffic.)
How would the water level have varied on a tidal basis behind the barrage?
And many more questions besides.
I do think the wildlife argument was nonsense. That was an argument applied to the Cardiff barrage too, and now Cardiff Bay is a mecca for wildlife.
However, in terms of capital cost, power generation and the impact in other aspects of life, I remain to be convinced either way. I know it's not a fashionable approach, but I need more facts before I can have an opinion.
How were boats going to pass through the barrage? (Remember there is a plan for a large container terminal at Avonmouth, as well as the impact on us leisure boaters and the existing commercial traffic.)
How would the water level have varied on a tidal basis behind the barrage?
And many more questions besides.
Bosun Higgs
N/A
Very disappointed. Windmills are useless technology - because there are windless days you have to duplicate their capacity ie for every gigawatt of windmill you have to have a gigawatt of conventional power station. And like windmills on boats they deliver something like 20% of their rated capacity on average using German experience. Will we do better than the Krauts 
When the depression hit the yanks, they built the Hoover dam. We could have done the same but instead build 2 aircraft carriers that we cant afford to put planes on or protect anyway.
When the depression hit the yanks, they built the Hoover dam. We could have done the same but instead build 2 aircraft carriers that we cant afford to put planes on or protect anyway.
Morpheous
Well-Known Member
Presumably there would have been a lock for the commercial shipping to go through. My selfish side is dissappointed, it could have meant more useable boating time. On the other hand the £ per GW produced side its still cheaper to go nuclear.
sarabande
Well-Known Member
with developments in magnetohydrodynamics coming on apace, it may be to the country's advantage to delay this project by ten years, so that we can take advantage of incoming technology.
But by then we could have the Somerset levels flooded again :0
But by then we could have the Somerset levels flooded again :0
vikingsmb
Member
I always wanted to know, if they did build the barrage, would the wolves reef be blown up/removed, or built on?
activesail
Well-Known Member
Technology speeding up..
I read this article today and the thought which came to me was, would the fast moving micro generating technology catch up before a Barrage could be built.
Tidal turbines are being tested around Europe for example. With the advantage of having far less impact on the environment.
I read this article today and the thought which came to me was, would the fast moving micro generating technology catch up before a Barrage could be built.
Tidal turbines are being tested around Europe for example. With the advantage of having far less impact on the environment.
Severnman
Well-Known Member
The 75 page summary available for download from the DECC website. Very pleased, an extremely expensive way of producing the lecky and for 75% of the time would have produced precisely zero watts. This is a common sense decision all round. I guess you have to decide for yourselves impacts on flora and fauna etc but either way it would have been a legal minefield to test Habitats Directive etc etc in a European court. Cardiff Weston option would have cut tidal HW height by up to 1.5m. This would have been devestating for the Channel ports affected. No doubt it will rear its ugly head in a decade though!