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River Severn (Tidal Power)

Volume 159: debated on Thursday 7 December 1922

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asked the Minister of Labour whether he has considered the proposal for utilising tidal energy by the construction of a barrage across the mouth of the Severn; and whether he is prepared to introduce a scheme to give effect to this project in the interests of the profitable employment of labour and capital?

I have been asked to reply. I would inform the hon. Member that the Water Power Resources Committee considered the subject of tidal power and expressed the view that the technical information available in regard to the possibility of utilising the tides in the Severn for the generation of power was not sufficiently precise to enable them to express a final opinion. The Committee recommended that a technical commission should be set up by the Board of Trade, in consultation with the Ministry of Transport, to investigate the possibility from a commercial standpoint with special reference to the Severn Estuary. Owing to the financial position and the necessity for drastically curtailing the expenditure of Government Departments, it has not yet been practicable to set up the proposed commission.