ENVIRONMENTAL groups have blasted the government’s shortlist for options for harnessing Severn tidal power.

A group of environmental organisations, including the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the World Wildlife Foundation, recently commissioned a review into the government’s proposals.

In January the Department of Energy and Climate Change revealed a shortlist of five projects that could be built to generate clean, green electricity from the power of the tides in the Severn estuary.

The options include the widely publicised 10-mile barrage from Cardiff to Weston, two smaller barrages further up the channel, or two lagoons, one that would be built on the English bank of the river and another proposed to be built on the Welsh side.

However, the review, which was conducted by engineers Atkins, claims the government’s shortlist was drawn up based on out-of-date calculations and criteria weighted against more innovative and potentially more environmentally friendly projects.

The environmental coalition is now calling on the government to revisit the shortlisting process to ensure a fair assessment of those innovative projects, which could give better value for the taxpayer.

Martin Spray, chief executive of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, said: "The need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions is urgent, but there are ways of doing this that do not destroy our best wildlife sites.

"The current shortlist is biased against schemes that aim to reduce environmental impact but these innovative new technologies may be part of the solution. Government needs to increase the funding pot to speed up their development."

In January Ed Miliband, energy and climate change secretary, did announce £500,000 of funding to help further develop new technologies like tidal reefs and fences and promised the progress of these technologies would be looked at in 2010 and considered for inclusion in the government’s shortlist.