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Power to the English
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While I share Mr Dai Lloyd’s concerns regarding the devolution of power station consents, I’m curious as to why Plaid’s Labour colleagues in the Welsh Assembly are now more vocal on this issue too?
In February this year the Assembly’s sustainability Minister Jane Davidson announced a new renewable energy route map.
This document contains many interesting proposals, but one in particular caught my eye, proposals for a new “400 kilovolt Grid Link into England.”
This link – a series of huge pylons extending 60 kilometres across Mid Wales towards Wrexham – will be constructed by the National Grid Company, in conjunction with local network operator SP Manweb.
It’s designed to facilitate a massive expansion of wind energy in the area. On October 31 last year National Grid issued a series of Connection Offers to wind energy companies for proposed wind farm projects in the area.
At of the start of this year, the number of grid-connected projects stood at thirteen.
The powerline itself will probably be approved by the UK Government’s new super-quango the Infrastructure Planning Commission.
Many of these wind farms will be built on Forestry Commission land.
On October 25 last year, Rhodri Morgan announced a new era for wind, as the commission offers leases to wind companies for the use of its land. It may be no coincidence that his announcement was made just six days before National Grid’s connection offers.
So there we have it.
A massive expansion of wind energy in Mid Wales.
And all for export to England.
I’m pro-wind energy, but given the history of reservoir-building in the area, it leave a bad taste in the mouth.
Is there something that Rhodri would like to share with his Plaid colleagues, and indeed the rest of us?
And is this the kind of Energy Colonialism that Plaid signed up to when it agreed to go into coalition with Labour?
I’m sure I’m not the only one who’d like to know?
JIM DUNCKLEY
Gorseinon, Swansea
Western Mail
2 July 2008
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