Severn Barrage tidal power scheme/economic benefits and environmental costs Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Severn Barrage tidal power scheme/economic benefits and environmental costs Deck (4)
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1
Q

EIA negative impacts

A
  • Loss of saltmarsh and mudflat habitats-important feeding grounds for waders and wildfowl. The estuary is a conservation wetland
  • Migrating fish, such as salmon, shad and thwaite severely affected, with loss of spawning habitats
  • Sediment flows in the estuary would be disrupted
  • Severn Tidal bore would be reduced in size
  • Problem with the dilution and dispersal of sewage waste in the absence of strong tidal currents
2
Q

EIA positive imapcts

A
  • Generation of renewable energy and reduction of carbon emissions (1 million tonnes per year) meet international climate change obligations
  • Dunlins benefit from stable water levels
  • Studies of La Rance in Brittany suggested that they can increase biodiversity, improve water quality and oxygen levels
3
Q

CBA benefits

A
  • Generate 5% of the UK’s electrical needs
  • Renewable form of energy
  • Fills the UK’s ‘Energy Gap’ as old nuclear power stations decommissioned over the next 5-10 years
  • Life span of up to 150 years
  • Creates 35,000 and 10,000 locally
  • Provide leisure activities
  • Strengthen flood defences around the Severn Estuary, act as a barrier.
4
Q

CBA costs

A
  • Around £20 billion
  • Disruption of shipping ports such as Avonmouth
  • Weston-super-Mare beaches degrade affecting tourism
  • Negative impact on local fishing and the extraction of aggregates from the estuary.