Britain’s first large tidal energy scheme – with the potential to deliver 5 per cent of the country’s electricity – is to be subject to a multi-million pound feasibility study, heralding a clash between the government and environmental groups.

John Hutton, business secretary, announced the study into a tidal barrage across the Severn estuary at the Labour conference in Bournemouth, claiming it was a “truly visionary project” that would help Britain meet its carbon reduction targets.