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38-769: On 22 January 2008, the Government launched the feasibility study. The study, previously led by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) is now led by the new Department for Energy and Climate Change and includes representation from the Welsh Assembly Government and the South West Regional Development Agency. Previous reports on tidal power in the Severn did not—and did not aim to—provide

76-501: A 3-month public consultation launched on 26 January 2009 and focused on the high level issues, the scope of the Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) and a proposed short-list of potential tidal power project options from the initial 10 schemes. Following consideration of the responses received to the consultation, the gathering of evidence and assessment will continue through phase 2. At the end of phase 2,

114-547: A Severn tidal power scheme. The study, often incorrectly called the Severn Barrage , looks at all tidal range technologies—including barrages, lagoons as well as other technologies. A decision whether the Government will support the scheme or not will take place after a second public consultation in 2010. It was decided after much debate that the scheme would be closed forever and that this would not be brought up in future discussions to save time. The first consultation of

152-602: A Transboundary Context the so-called Espoo Convention laid the foundations for the introduction of SEA in 1991. In 2003, the Espoo Convention was supplemented by a Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment . The European SEA Directive 2001/42/EC required that all member states of the European Union should have ratified the Directive into their own country's law by 21 July 2004. Countries of

190-471: A detailed analysis of all tidal range technologies. This feasibility study aims to consider all tidal range technologies, including barrages and lagoons. The focus is on tidal range technologies as this is where the energy potential in the Severn Estuary is the greatest, as opposed to 'tidal flow' which is the current in moving tidal waters. The tidal range in the Severn Estuary is the second highest in

228-672: A major White Paper in July 2009, setting out its purpose and plans. The majority of DECC's budget was spent on managing the historic nuclear sites in the United Kingdom, in 2012/13 this being 69% of its budget spent through the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority . The costs to the government of nuclear decommissioning are expected to increase when the last of the United Kingdom's Magnox reactors are shut down and no longer produce an income. The department

266-565: A more strategic level (for example the fact that new infrastructure may generate an increased demand for travel). The concept of strategic assessments originated from regional development / land use planning in the developed world. In 1981 the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department published the Area-wide Impact Assessment Guidebook . In Europe the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in

304-607: A new in-depth study into the potential for tidal power from the Severn. The Sustainable Development Commission (SDC), the Government's independent advisory body on sustainable development , was commissioned to look at the issues arising around tidal power, with a particular focus on the Severn Estuary. Their study, 'Turning the Tide: Tidal Power in the UK', concluded that: The study aims to gather and examine evidence which will enable Government to decide whether it could support

342-482: A number of studies considering barraging the Severn estuary for electricity generation reasons. These studies concluded in 1989 in the government policy document 'Energy Paper 57', which found that an ebb generation scheme (one that generates electricity as the tide goes out) between Lavernock Point and Brean Down , known as the Cardiff-Weston barrage was technically feasible. The annual output of electricity

380-411: A principal objective, the aim of sustainable management. SEA is increasingly being considered for transportation projects. Development assistance is increasingly being provided through strategic-level interventions, aimed to make aid more effective. SEA meets the need to ensure environmental considerations are taken into account in this new aid context. Applying SEA to development co-operation provides

418-537: A privately financed scheme. Department for Energy and Climate Change The Department of Energy and Climate Change ( DECC ) was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom created on 3 October 2008, by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the functions related to energy of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform , and those relating to climate change of

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456-400: A second and final public consultation will be launched and Government will make a decision on whether and how a tidal power project could be supported. In doing so Government will consider the costs, benefits, impacts and risks of a Severn tidal power project and whether these are acceptable. As part of the feasibility study, A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) will take place. An SEA

494-505: A structured and tiered decision framework, aiming to support more effective and efficient decision-making for sustainable development and improved governance by providing for a substantive focus regarding questions, issues and alternatives to be considered in policy, plan and program (PPP) making. SEA is an evidence-based instrument aiming to add scientific rigor to PPP making by using suitable assessment methods and techniques. Ahmed and Ernesto, Sánchez-Triana (2008) developed an approach to

532-422: A tidal power scheme in the Severn Estuary and if so, on what terms. Building on past studies, the feasibility study will provide an up-to-date overview of all the key issues involved. There are six key work areas which will be looked at closely in the study: The study will run for roughly two years (until 2010) and will be a two-stage process with a decision point at the end of each. The first stage concluded with

570-481: Is a formal environmental assessment of plans or programmes which are likely to have significant effects on the environment. The assessment is produced in the form of an environmental report. A list of ten proposed projects was published in July 2008. The feasibility study looked in further detail at the ten schemes and the consultation document published in January 2009 proposed that a short-list of 5 schemes should be

608-543: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs . It was led at time of closure by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change , Amber Rudd MP. Following Theresa May 's appointment as Prime Minister in July 2016, Rudd became Home Secretary and the department was disbanded and merged with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills , to form the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy under Greg Clark MP. The department released

646-506: The National Assembly for Wales rather than reserved to Westminster. Strategic Environmental Assessment Strategic environmental assessment ( SEA ) is a systematic decision support process aiming to ensure that environmental and possibly other sustainability aspects are considered effectively in policy, plan, and program making. In this context, following Fischer (2007) SEA may be seen as: Effective SEA works within

684-512: The EU started implementing the land use aspects of SEA first, some took longer to adopt the directive than others, but the implementation of the directive can now be seen as completed. Many EU nations have a longer history of strong Environmental Appraisal including Denmark , the Netherlands , Finland and Sweden . The newer member states to the EU have hurried in implementing the directive. For

722-625: The European Union. Some plans, such as finance and budget plans or civil defence plans are exempt from the SEA Directive, it also only applies to plans that are required by law, which excludes national government's plans and programs, as their plans are 'voluntary', whereas local and regional governments are usually required to prepare theirs. SEA within the UK is complicated by different Regulations, guidance and practice between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In particular

760-526: The House of Commons, it was scheduled for a second reading on 6 March 2015. However, as a private members bill, it was unlikely to be passed without government support, which in the event it failed to get. Mr Bone reintroduced his Bill on 29 June 2015. It did not progress beyond its first reading. However, the proposed disbanding and merger did occur, shortly after the appointment of Theresa May as Prime Minister . The devolution of energy policy varies around

798-703: The SEA Legislation in Scotland (and in Northern Ireland, which specifically refers to the Regional Development Strategy) contains an expectation that SEA will apply to strategies as well as plans and programmes. In the UK, SEA is inseparable from the term ' sustainability ', and an SEA is expected to be carried out as part of a wider Sustainability Appraisal (SA), which was already a requirement for many types of plan before

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836-590: The SEA directive and includes social, and economic factors in addition to environmental. Essentially an SA is intended to better inform decision makers on the sustainability aspects of the plan and ensure the full impact of the plan on sustainability is understood. The United Kingdom in its strategy for sustainable development, A Better Quality of Life (May 1999), explained sustainable development in terms of four objectives. These are: These headline objectives are usually used and applied to local situations in order to assess

874-467: The UK certainly, very often is. The structure of SEA (under the Directive) is based on the following phases: The EU directive also includes impacts other than the environmental, such as material assets and archaeological sites. In most Western European states, this has been broadened further to include economic and social aspects of sustainability . SEA should ensure that plans and programs consider

912-532: The United Kingdom; most aspects in Great Britain are decided at Westminster. Key reserved and excepted energy matters (i.e. not devolved) are as follows: Scotland Northern Ireland Nuclear energy is excepted. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment is responsible for general energy policy. Wales Under the Welsh devolution settlement, specific policy areas are transferred to

950-596: The corresponding European Union Directive in its non-mandatory application to policies and legislation – not just plans and programmes. The Protocol also places a strong emphasis on the consideration of health, and there are other more subtle differences between the two instruments. SEA in New Zealand is part of an integrated planning and assessment process and unlike the US is not used in the manner of Environmental impact assessment . The Resource Management Act 1991 has, as

988-495: The design and implementation of public policies that follows a continuous process rather than as a discrete intervention. The European Union Directive on Environmental Impact Assessments (85/337/EEC,also known as the EIA Directive ) only applied to certain projects. This was seen as deficient as it only dealt with specific effects at the local level whereas many environmentally damaging decisions had already been made at

1026-559: The environmental effects they cause. If those environmental effects are part of the overall decision taking, it is called Strategic Impact Assessment . SEA is a legally enforced assessment procedure required by Directive 2001/42/EC (known as the SEA Directive). The SEA Directive aims at introducing systematic assessment of the environmental effects of strategic land use related plans and programs. It typically applies to regional and local, development, waste and transport plans, within

1064-586: The feasibility study was launched on 26 January 2009 and closed on 23 April 2009. It looked at the scope of the Strategic Environmental Assessment, the issues the feasibility study considered and the shortlisted schemes up for more detailed analysis in stage two. Proposals for damming or barraging the Severn Estuary (and Bristol Channel) have existed since the 19th century for reasons such as transport links and flood protection. In more recent decades however, (1970s and 80s) there were

1102-459: The high level issues and potential tidal power options assessment. Late 2008 – Government decision on whether there are any issues that mean the project cannot proceed. January 2009 – Start of a public consultation on recommended short-list of schemes for further assessment, on the process employed to move from the long list to the short list and the scope of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). Spring 2009 - Second phase. Subject to

1140-521: The impact of the plan or program. The Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment was negotiated by the member States of the UNECE (in this instance Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia). It required ratification by 16 States to come into force, which it did in July 2010. It is now open to all UN Member States. Besides its potentially broader geographical application (global), the Protocol differs from

1178-522: The most part, an SEA is conducted before a corresponding EIA is undertaken. This means that information on the environmental impact of a plan can cascade down through the tiers of decision making and can be used in an EIA at a later stage. This should reduce the amount of work that needs to be undertaken. A handover procedure is foreseen. The SEA Directive only applies to plans and programmes, not policies, although policies within plans are likely to be assessed and SEA can be applied to policies if needed and in

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1216-404: The outcome of the feasibility study is a decision to proceed, extensive and further detailed work would be needed to plan and implement a tidal power project, and secure the regulatory consents that would be required. The government concluded it did not see a strategic case for public investment in a tidal energy scheme in the Severn estuary, but the outcome of the feasibility study does not preclude

1254-528: The potential energy which could be generated from the various locations, and concluded that, contrary to earlier studies and computations, the maximum power potential would come from an Ilfracombe - Gower barrage, much further west than any of the schemes the Feasibility Study considered. This different conclusion was attributed to several calculation elements which were neglected in previous numerical models. April to Autumn 2008 – Initial focus on

1292-423: The responses made to the consultation, the issues to be considered will be examined in more detail, the short list finalised and narrowed down to a preferred option or combination of options. 2010 – Public consultation on the evidence and conclusions of the study. Following the consultation, Government will make a decision on whether it could support a tidal power scheme, and if so on what terms. Post 2010 – If

1330-442: The subject of more extensive research in phase two of the study. The 5 schemes are: The Government response to consultation was published in July 2009. This confirmed detailed study in phase 2 would be carried out on the 5 schemes that were recommended in the consultation document. It also announced work to bring forward 3 further schemes that are currently in the very early stages of development. A 2009 Paper by Atkins re-evaluated

1368-404: The world and can rise as much as 14 metres, meaning it has the potential to generate more renewable electricity than all other UK estuaries. This could create up to 5% of the UK's electricity, contributing significantly to UK climate change goals as well as European Union renewable energy targets. The Government is carrying out the feasibility study to look at all the costs, benefits and impacts of

1406-416: Was estimated at approximately 17 terawatt hours (TWh). However, at the time Government decided a Severn Barrage was not a cost-effective option for generating electricity and plans were shelved. A comprehensive history of studies and plans for a Severn Barrage can be found under Severn Barrage . In May 2006, with the growing evidence of climate change and rising fossil fuel prices, the Government called for

1444-556: Was somewhat resurrected in February 2023 with the creation of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero , carrying almost the same responsibilities as this department once did. In July 2014, a private member's bill was proposed in Parliament, sponsored by Conservative MP Peter Bone , to abolish the Department of Energy and Climate Change and absorb its portfolio into the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills . In

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