There are many ways in which green energy on an island nation such as the UK should be utilised. The best way in which I believe (other than offshore wind farms off of the west coast of Scotland) is a barrage over the River Severn.
The River Severn's energy has a huge amount of energy stored in it, because of the sheer amount of water flowing into it, more than any other river in England and Wales. The best way to utilise this would be too build the barrage slightly further back from the outer barrage area on the map, so the barrage can achieve its full potential with both the energy of the tides and Severn bore. This would generate approximately 15 GW of energy (5% of UK total), however it has been stated the bore could be eliminated by a barrage.
The advantages of this scheme would see 25% of the governments green energy targets met. Another green advantage would be its carbon payback, which would take around a year. It'll also protect the immediate area from coastal flooding as well as benefiting the area's economy by providing jobs in construction and tourism. It could also provide new road and rail links which will have a longer lifetime than the suspension bridges. Many have argued about the wiping out of habitat, but the reduced turbidity of the water will see more birds and fish come to the area.
There are some disadvantages however. The main two are the assessment and eventual change of industrial activity and discharge into the Severn and the difficulty of ships being able to navigate it, meaning the building of locks and the loss of some energy produced. There would also be increased coastal erosion around the barrage and the potential loss of habitat and feeding ground for birds, as it is one of the largest areas of mud flats in Europe.
Whatever the environmental costs of this operation, it is potentially the largest energy producing region inside the UK and if left untouched with green energy as a whole the cost would be much greater worldwide.
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