HL Deb 19 January 1989 vol 503 cc449-50WA
Viscount Hanworth

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is their assessment of the merits of sea as opposed to estuarial barrages for generating electrictity, bearing in mind that a sea barrage could provide a firm base for offshore wind turbines.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Energy (Baroness Hooper)

The most cost effective method of extracting energy from the tides is by locating barrages in estuaries. Wind turbines could possibly be constructed on a sea barrage but this is unlikely markedly to improve the economic viability of such a barrage.