| Welcome
to the official Website for The Severn Lake™ project - the
development of an Energy Causeway which creates a 145,000 hecatre
lake in the Bristol Channel
This site features the very latest news on this exciting project,
plus background details about the plans...
The concrete Causeway will be 12.2 km long from Lavernock Point
(Fort Road) in Wales to Brean Down (National Trust) in Somerset,
England. Without exception, all of the schemes proposed for the
Severn have been a concrete wall carrying turbines with a roadway
above between Wales and the West of England. The Severn Lake Causeway
does not propose to run ashore at either side, will be fully autonomous
in every utility and will not have a roadway between Wales and
England. The proposal goes further in providing a whole ribbon
development within the Lake.
The Causeway will be approximately 1,000 metres (one thousand
metres) wide at its extremes.
The construction of the turbine galleries holding 192 turbines
of 7.9 metres diameter will conform to, two directional one way
turbines, computer controlled for tidal and lake height control
for optimum energy production. There will be two test galleries
for service and testing of old, and new generating turbines. The
minimum life design will be one hundred years. These will supply
Energy A.
The Causeway will have at its extremities fish passes, with viewing
points, and underground marine life viewing cafes.
The Causeway will contain within its width and along the current
shipping channel lanes, two constant-flow-marine-locks able to
sustain 250,000 d.w.t. shipping. These locks will allow the unhindered
passage of shipping at all available times. To provide a clear
channel for commercial shipping and to control leisure craft,
islands would be moored in place to be utilised as to their market
needs and value.
The Causeway will contain 1,500 fully contained cellars measuring
100 metres long by 50 metres wide by 20 metres high. Made of reinforced
concrete, these cellars will hold approximately 90,000 tons (each)
of robotically controlled organic waste. These will provide methane
gas to be burned to provide electricity supply B. On exhaustion,
the decomposed waste pelleted, with the cellars refilled. It is
possible that this facility can provide the whole of the organic
waste fill site requirement for South Wales and the South West,
in a continuing process.
Wave Farms can be strategically placed to allow shipping, but
to console the channel winds / waves and protect the Causeway.
The Causeway grid provides a convenient and cost effective conduit
for such a scheme managed by the Severn Lake Company as part of
the turnover.
Four marinas, two along each shoreline would provide safe berthing
for the many boats, yachts and water sports using the Lake. These
would add hugely to tourism with Welsh speakers on one side and
Europeans on 'tother side!
The Severn Lake Company would provide a lifeboat station, as
shown on the plan.
Private Islands to be used as luxury living accommodation, sponsored
islands which can provide habitat for wildlife and birds, fishing
islands, diving islands with temporary accommodation. The Company
would look to promote tourism and provide free electricity and
/ or gas to all Lake transport suitably equipped. (This would
include Cardiff Bay, Newport, Gloucester, Bristol, Portishead
and Weston-Super-Mare). The Company would actively promote the
brokerage of renewable fuel marine transport systems on the Lake.
The Causeway would contain Ports on both sections to initially
deal with construction and latterly to accept waste and the utility
and service of the Causeway itself.
The Causeway would have its own water supply through its own
desalination plant.
The extremities of the Causeway, with allowances for the fish
passes would be designer landscaped in consultation with the local
authorities in Wales and the National Trust in Somerset.
The extremities of the Causeway, with allowances for fish passes
would be designed landscaped in consultation with the local authorities
in Wales and the National Trust in Somerset.
The building of the Causeway will provide a huge new environment
more suited to life on a live lake. The French at Le Rance, and
with hydro schemes we have looked at in Avignon, and others, have
led the way and will provide copy-cat systems of fish pass, level
control and upper erosion protection. The Severn Lake Company
intend to manage the Lake to encourage sustainable dish stocks
and varied aquatic life and will look to work with the R.S.P.B.
to provide some of the compensatory habitat described as a condition
by the Sustainable Development Commission. The Causeway, when
completed, along with its ancillary development, will take in
some 1900 hectares of water, which will become land. A considerable
portion of this land will be given up to provide similar feeding
conditions. (including shoreline) to compensate for the minor
losses incurred by the retention in the Lake of higher levels
of water.
Important Note
In the planning process, the Severn Lake Company will argue that
the provision of renewable power is in the national interest and
that the Severn Lake Company will provide further compensatory
habitat if the Sustainable Development Commission guarantee that
any compensatory habitat identified will be fully utilised.
The actual building of the Causeway described has no particular
engineering hurdles. It is likely that in the design, certain
sections can be installed and working before others (this part
is, at this stage, strictly Company Commercial and in Confidence).
It is estimated that between four and six yards in the UK and
Netherlands can build the cellars to a given programme. Employment
at its height could be some 30,000 men, over some five to seven
years.
It is feasible to produce electricity in stages of build and
also possible to take waste to cellar 1. All of which assists
in cash flow!
The most difficult part of the project is the politics and the
planning and consent procedures. With the introduction of this
'whole' development and given the increases in the returns for
energy, and waste disposal, the viability of the project will
be shown to be attractive to medium and long term investors.
Gareth Woodham
Founder of the Severn Lake
Dated: 1st December 2008, and promoted as a unique scheme with
its rights reserved solely to The Severn Lake Co. Ltd
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