Greens unhappy at Severn barrage shortlist

Green groups are upset by the Government’s final decision on the Severn estuary barrage, claiming that the five schemes they chose of a possible ten are biased towards large business and not towards the best ecological solutions.

After the shortlist was first announced, seven of the key environmental groups in Britain (which include the National Trust, WWF, and Wildfowl and Wetlands), decided to commission their own report, hiring engineers Atkins to review the ten short-listed schemes.

The Atkins commission found the Government report had many flaws that led to the wrong choice, ultimately causing the seven environmental groups to speak up in a backlash that has raised environmental flags.

According to Atkins, the Government report used old data, did not account for electricity from less environmentally harmful but innovative products, did not accurately account for environmentally damage from the larger schemes, and overall did not use fair decision techniques to compare environmental value versus economical value.

National Trust regional director Brendan McCarthy stated that the agency realises the need to increase energy using renewable sources, but added the agency feels the decision to use certain schemes on the Severn Estuary took little into account of the area in terms or the existing ecosystem and cultural environment.

The agencies are requesting that the Government conduct a second report since the first was biased against innovation, in the hopes of providing better leverage for these groups and prospects that would endanger the natural wildlife less.

RSPB representative and head of sustainable development Martin Harper stated that the government should not rush to choose initiatives because this increases the risk of making an inappropriate decision, with costs to taxpayers and the environment.

The Severn Estuary area was picked as an area for renewable energy because of its immense tidal range, at 45 feet the second largest in the world next to the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia.

65,000 birds live in the area as well as many aquatic animals which are one of the areas of concern with the new proposed schemes.