Promoters of a hydro-electric barrage across The Wash say they have agreed a "strategic partnership" with energy giant Centrica.

Centre Port said the energy firm had invested an undisclosed sum into a feasibility study of its proposals, which would generate enough electricity to power 600,000 homes and businesses.

"Centrica would provide a guaranteed price for the renewable energy produced by the tidal turbines to underpin their construction," it said.

"It’s anticipated some of the off-peak renewable energy produced could be used to create green hydrogen to decarbonise the farming and transport sector."

Greg McKenna, managing director of Centrica Business Solutions, the parent company of major suppliers including, British Gas, said: “We’re excited to help Centre Port explore their ambitious plans for The Wash.

"The project represents one of the largest tidal power schemes anywhere in the world and would provide a reliable source of green energy to the UK.

"The first step is to understand the role such a scheme would play in an area of the country particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.”

Plans for the £2bn barrage, which were revealed over the weekend, include the world's first tide-powered container port.

Centre Port also claims the 11-mile structure between Hunstanton and Skegness would also protect low-lying areas of the Fens from flooding as sea levels rise and help to conserve The Wash.

Eastern Daily Press: Conservationists fear a barrage across The Wash could have catastrophic impacts on wildlifeConservationists fear a barrage across The Wash could have catastrophic impacts on wildlife (Image: Matthew Usher)

Its chief executive James Sutcliffe said: "The local environment is seriously at risk from climate change.

"Our Mission is to retain The Wash boundaries, its wildlife and ecology and to minimise climate change impacts that could devastate these sensitive areas."

But conservation groups in Norfolk and Lincolnshire fear it would have "catastrophic impacts" on the estuary and its wildlife.

A planning application has yet to be submitted for the scheme, which Centre Port said could be operational by the end of the decade if given the go-ahead.

A wash barrage was first proposed in the late 1960s. Similar plans were proposed in 2008 but later abandoned.

The Environment Agency has warned while the town's flood defences are currently adequate, a barrage may be needed to protect King's Lynn over the longer term.