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Energy White Paper

My Lords, the noble Baroness is right that we can look at other options in the context of the river Severn; the barrage is just one of those. It would be a large, extremely expensive and complicated project, but it would have real potential benefits in terms of renewable generation. However, as I say, we can look at other options. We are looking closely at the distribution of energy through the National Grid so that the barriers to distribution are reduced to make the grid work more effectively, and ensure that we bring on the localised use of energy, particular from renewable sources.