§ 36. Mr. Ronald Atkinsasked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will re-examine the viability of the Severn barrage scheme in the light of the invention of the Straflo turbine; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EadieThe Straflo turbine is a recent version of the straight-flow turbine first used in the 1930s. It incorporates features designed to overcome some of the problems which have limited the fields of application of this type of machine, but it is too early to judge the degree of success. The straight-flow turbine design was considered in the recent assessment of the Severn Barrage made by the Central Electricity Generating Board but it was judged prudent to carry out the study on the assumption that the turbines would be of the proven bulb design used so successfully in the Rance tidal power scheme. The position will be kept under review.