In January, the UK government and Welsh Assembly launched a two-year feasibility study into the possibility of harnessing tidal energy in the Severn estuary in order to generate electricity.

It has the second largest tidal range in the world, which could be used to meet up to 5% of the UK's electricity needs.

Two forms of technology are being assessed by the study: tidal barrages and tidal lagoons.

The concepts are not new and there have been plans to tap into the river's resource since the middle of the 19th Century.

The big tidal range also makes the area an internationally important habitat for migrating birds. ... Read full article