A new report from the House of Lords European Union Committee has indicated that Britain will be unable to reach its target for renewable energy by 2020 without "wholesale changes on all fronts" to its current strategy.
The Committee mentioned that the plan to build a barrage across Severn near Bristol will not help the Government meet its renewable energy targets.
It is estimated the £15bn barrage could produce five percent of Britain's electricity or 1.5 percent of its total energy use. Yet the House of Lords EU committee concluded the barrage would not be built in time. If a barrage is approved, construction is likely to start in 2014 with an estimated completion date of 2023.
The Lords' report stated: "Should the Severn barrage be built, it may still not be completed in time to contribute to the 2020 target. It is necessary to await the economic, technological and environmental assessments for the Severn barrage project before decisions can be made about whether it can be included as a deliverable resource.
The Government should not rely on inclusion of the estimated generating capacity of the barrage to reach the 2020 renewable target."
A Stop the Barrage Now spokesman said: "The report highlights the growing concern among our supporters that the Government has become fixated on a barrage scheme that is incredibly costly in the first instance, is an environmental nightmare to the estuaries wildlife and biodiversity, and will be extremely damaging to the region's economy – especially the maritime community."
