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The RSPB is warning that a tidal barrage across the Mersey could destroy wildlife and bring floods – and that there is a chance that one could be built on the Estuary within the next ten years, despite warnings from conservationists.
A new report from The Mersey Tidal Power project, led by developers Peel Energy and the Northwest Regional Development Agency, includes a barrage as one of a shortlist of four options to generate tidal energy on the river. If a tidal barrage is chosen, it could be operational by 2020. The RSPB are concerned that this could potentially cause irreversible damage to the estuary.
Peter Robertson, the RSPB’s conservation manager for Northern England said:
“I am extremely concerned that a tidal barrage is still being seriously considered on the Mersey. The RSPB supports clean renewable energy schemes but only if they do not pose a significant threat to the environment.
“Old-fashioned methods of generating tidal power - in particular tidal barrages - carry huge risks to sensitive environments such as the Mersey Estuary.”
The RSPB say the most compelling evidence of the devastation a barrage could cause on the Mersey comes from an official Dutch report, which outlines the effects of a storm surge barrier built across the Oosterschelde estuary in the 1980s.
The Dutch report found the barrier has led to the loss of mudflats along the estuary, leading to higher waves and water levels thus increasing the risk of flooding. Moreover, the loss of mudflats has reduced the feeding grounds for internationally important numbers of birds, which is likely to lead to large reductions in their populations.
The report also suggests that shipping channels will become shallower and harder to navigate.
Tidal energy schemes on the Mersey were first mooted in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when plans were put forward to construct a large barrage. However, the proposal collapsed amid spiraling costs, mounting local opposition and clear predictions that the natural environment would be seriously damaged.
Peter Robertson continued:
“Rather than waste taxpayers' money on feasibility schemes based around old-fashioned tidal energy methods that wreck the environment, this money should be invested in emerging technologies that have a minimal impact on wildlife and precious habitats.”
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