Analysis of the Severn Barrage

IPA Energy + Water Economics were commissioned to investigate the viability of the largest tidal barrage proposal for the Severn estuary, the Cardiff-Weston scheme.  We provided an analysis of the costs of generation from the barrage scheme and compared it with other generation sources that could be deployed on a large scale (gas, coal, nuclear, onshore and offshore wind), as well as examining the implications which the barrage could have for security of electricity supplies and on the overall operation of the electricity system.  Subsequent analyses examined the relative CO2 emissions abatement potential of the Barrage against alternative technologies, and the extent to which the tidal pattern of generation might cause other plant on the system (in particular CCGTs) to operate less efficiently and hence emit more CO2 because of increased part-loading and flexing.