Under the Kyoto Protocol many countries have targets to reduce carbon emissions and increase renewable energy production. In order to do this effectively the impact and efficacy of differing schemes must be determined. One option for producing electricity is through the use of a tidal barrage. The largest potential barrage scheme considered in the UK is the Cardiff-Weston barrage scheme in the Severn estuary. The scheme would be a single, renewable installation and is predicted to constitute 4% of the UK electricity supply. Therefore a carbon and energy assessment was completed on the Cardiff-Weston Severn barrage scheme. The assessment shows that the energy and carbon intensity of the Severn barrage is small in comparison to the National Grid mix and that, given reasonable assumptions, the Severn barrage can contribute to meeting the UK carbon reduction target. Importantly, the operation stage was identified as both the most energy and carbon intense by a large margin. This is a notable finding as preceding studies have tended to dismiss the consequences of the barrage operation as minimal or nil. Whilst these findings are for the Cardiff-Weston barrage, the implications will be similar for tidal barrages in other sites in the UK and globally. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.