Mersey Barrage Scheme on hold

Claire Reed, Marine Conservation Officer (North West) for the RSPB, has news of the proposed Mersey Barrage Scheme:

"Peel Energy is putting the Mersey Tidal Power project on hold for at least the duration of this term in government as the scheme is not financially viable under current renewable energy subsides. This is obviously great news (for now) and I want to say a huge thank you for all your support over the past year. Below is the official press release produced by Peel, which was sent out this morning:

http://www.peelenergy.co.uk/mersey-tidal-power-feasiblity-

A preferred option report (Stage 3 Feasibility Study) which includes the final decision on the type of tidal technology to be used in the Mersey Tidal Power project has also been produced and is now available for comment at the link below:

http://www.merseytidalpower.co.uk/

It states that, although currently uneconomical, the preferred option for tidal technology on the Mersey came out as a full impoundment barrage, as we thought. We know this to be the most environmentally destructive type of tidal technology that exists to date, even though Peel have stated in the study that it is broadly environmentally acceptable. Consequently, we are pulling together a press release in response to this. We will also state that we welcome the fact that this proposal has been shelved, but that we do encourage the developer/government to continue to look into the environmental implications of new types of tidal power technology so we may better understand these should the proposal on the Mersey resurface in the future.

This now brings into question our proposed programme of summer Mersey campaign activities, and where this announcement leaves us. This is certainly not the end for the Mersey Barrage Campaign. Over the next few weeks I would like to encourage as many of you as possible to write to your local press editor and express your views at this announcement. I will be in touch with further details about this soon.

Many thanks again for all your support. We don’t know to what extent local voices have influenced this decision, but I like to believe voicing your concerns certainly added weight to this."