Wind Power News: Wales
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
Plaid Cymru accuses Labour MPs of undermining Welsh Government over energy powers
Plaid Cymru has accused Labour MPs of undermining their own Welsh Government by voting against a move to devolve decision-making powers over big energy projects. Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MP Jonathan Edwards’ bid to introduce a Bill in the House of Commons was defeated by Tory and Labour MPs on Tuesday evening. First Minister Carwyn Jones has called for energy policy to be devolved to the Assembly. Mr Edwards claimed the snub was evidence of a lack of faith in . . .
Anglesey windfarm protest
Anglesey windfarm protest 5.44PM Wed Feb 1 2012 Campaigners are calling for a ban on windfarm developments on Anglesey, claiming turbines will ruin the island. Earlier today, around 200 people held a protest outside the council headquarters. Councillors there are in the process of finalising planning policies towards wind farm developments. [video available]
Still time to protest over hilltop wind turbine plan
A man protesting against plans for a large wind turbine at a farm near Cynwyl Elfed is reminding people there is still time to lodge their views with planners. Although the official consultation period has now closed, John Spencer said people could still send in objections if they wanted to. “People can still object — or say what a wonderful thing it is,” he said. His neighbour David Anthony Thomas, of Nant y Gelli, has applied for planning permission to . . .
Speak out on wind turbine noise worries
Welsh Assembly ministers are coming to Carmarthen at the end of this month to hear from the public about complaints of noise from wind turbines. It follows a petition of more than 1,000 names being handed in to the Assembly over concerns at the Alltwalis wind farm last year. Members of the petitions committee have now said they will come to take the views from people due to the large number of written complaints. A statement from the committee reads: . . .
Expert says work on Mynydd y Betws windfarm must stop
All construction work around the recently-discovered Neolithic stone row at Mynydd y Betws must come to an immediate halt, according to one of the UK’s leading heritage law experts. Peter Alexander-Fitzgerald, of Rescue – The British Archaeological Trust – has called for Carmarthenshire county council to use its powers to stop all work until a full survey of the area is carried out. “The planning authority should apply for an Article Four Direction under the Town and Country Planning Order . . .
Turbines huge threat to birds
In the excellent S4C wildlife series Antur y Gorllewin (Adventure of the West), Welsh naturalist Iolo Williams films wildlife along the western shores of mainland Europe, Iceland, Canaries and the Azores. His latest programme on January 25 featured the thousands of birds that migrate between Europe to Africa every year. Iolo could not disguise his disgust and anger when he showed us the 250-plus eyesore wind turbines on the hills above Tarifa, the southernmost point of mainland Spain near the . . .
Mynydd Y Betws wind farm stone row – the discoverer’s tale
On January 2nd 2012 Helen and myself were invited to have a look at an area of moorland which had been fenced off at Bancbryn as part of the wind farm development on Mynydd Y Betws. This development has caused considerable local disquiet for a number of reasons and some of those actively campaigning against the wind farm wondered whether the archaeological work in advance of the development had been carried out properly. We visited on a pleasant day with . . .
Concerns raised during Atlantic Array wind farm consultation revealed
The outcome of a public consultation about plans to build a wind farm the size of the Isle of Wight in the Bristol Channel were revealed yesterday. A public exhibition was held in Porthcawl, the first of seven across Wales, to discuss developer RWE npower’s plan to build up to 417 turbines – each up to 220m high – in waters between South Wales and North Devon as part of their Atlantic Array offshore wind farm project. The report was . . .
Stone Age find puts Mynydd y Betws windfarm in doubt
The controversial Mynydd y Betws windfarm seemingly faces question marks over its future after experts claimed to have discovered a 5,000-year-old Stone Age monument “almost as significant as Stonehenge” on the site. The 500-metre Neolithic stone row– believed to date from around 3,000BC – has been described as having “national, possibly even international, significance”. The discovery – if confirmed – also raises questions over the planning permissions granted to the developers, Irish power firm ESB. The Guardian has previously reported . . .
Anger over imported English stone being used for Gwynt y Môr wind farm
Work on preparing the sea bed for the Gwynt y Môr wind farm is starting, but there have been complaints that rock to protect the sea bed from erosion around the 160 turbines is being imported from Cumbria. It has been argued that North Wales quarries could have provided the stone, helping to secure jobs and even create new ones. Llandudno’s mayor Greg Robbins was alarmed when he heard the contract to provide scour protection has been awarded to a . . .
