SPOT THE DIFFERENCE!

The National Assembly is standing its ground over fracking - especially as the now unrestrained wholly Conservative Westminster government has announced its plans to speed up the processes by which fracking applications are considered. Here in Wales we have a temporary moratorium on fracking, while in England the pressure is growing from Westminster for fracking applications to be dealt with in 16 weeks. 

This cautious approach (at least in Wales) is a sensible one, especially as their are potentially serious environmental implications for the fracking process. During the last Westminster election, my former Conservative opponent was more than happy to demonstrate his lack of concern for the environment, presumably working on the assumption that he will dead and gone before having to face any environmental consequences. 

Wales is home to vast natural wealth, but for too long, Westminster has benefited from the exploitation and export of our resources. It makes sense to see control over our natural resources and major energy projects to be devolved from Westminster to the National Assembly so that the people of Wales benefit from them.

That way, we can dramatically increase our renewable energy capacity with a focus on tidal and hydro sources, and protect our communities from damaging Westminster policies such as fracking and over-reliance on fossil fuels. We need to introduce a Climate Change Act for Wales, adopting challenging but achievable greenhouse gas reduction targets for 2030 and 2050.

Our communities should be able to benefit more from energy generation, with local people owning and investing in energy projects as has happened in Scotland. We should also look into establishing local power grids and a Wales-wide national energy grid to secure energy transmission around Wales, linking north and south entry points undersea.

Some 85,000 households in Wales fell into fuel poverty between 2011-2014 bringing the total to 450,000. In such an energy-rich nation this is nothing short of disgraceful. That is why Plaid Cymru is committed to a fairer, greener, more prosperous Wales where our resources can be put to use in a manner that benefits our communities, our environment and our economy.

MAKING THE RIGHT DECISION

The news that the latest sets of questionable plans for a £25 billion pound barrage across the Severn Estuary have been kicked into touch by MPs at Westminster should be welcomed. The House of Commons' Energy and Climate Change Committee criticised a "lack of information and noted a perceived lack of transparency" about the proposal.

The MPs stated that the case for the barrage is "unproven" and that Hafren Power had failed to provide robust and independently verified evidence of the economic, environmental and technological viability of the project. The MPs were warned about the potential of job losses in nearby ports, and came to the conclusion that the barrage scheme did not provide a solution to meeting renewable energy targets and it should not go ahead in its current form.

Hafren Power wanted to build an 11-mile barrage between Lavernock Point near Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, and Brean near Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. In their report MPs said Hafren had failed to make the case that it would be good for the economy or the environment.

This is a sensible decision on the part of MPs in Westminster should, mean that the way is clear to consider more sustainable less environmentally damaging energy schemes. There are plenty of potential options out there including tidal lagoons (as proposed for Swansea Bay), tidal fences and wave power projects which could produce far more energy over a far longer period (and generate sustainable jobs).

When it comes to generating energy and jobs (here in Wales) it is well worth noting that both New Labour and the Conservatives failed to honour their Welsh general election manifesto promise in 2011 to increase the 1 MW limit for off-shore and 50 MW for on-shore threshold for planning for energy projects – something that does not help us here in Wales. This failure effectively threatens to prevent the development of potential energy schemes above that threshold as they have to be decided in Westminster rather than in Wales.

Back in January 2012, Plaid MP Jonathan Edwards called for energy powers to be transferred to the Welsh Government; his bill would have given the Welsh Government powers over energy generation in Wales. The bill (which was blocked by Labour and Conservative MPs, defeated by 239 votes to 44) would have ensured equality with Scotland and Northern Ireland and would have meant that Wales would have been better placed to fight fuel poverty with responsibility for our own resources.

I have for some time had serious concerns about any proposed Severn Barrage, it does not generate enough energy over a long enough period to justify the cost and it would be environmentally damaging. A more logical solution would be to build tidal lagoons, the one proposed for Swansea Bay would be ideal to test out the technology. Previous attempts to develop this technology (here in Wales) have been repeatedly stalled and delayed by a hostile Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and then powerless (but now vision-less and clueless) Welsh Government.

The last thing we seriously need to do is limit the amount of sustainable energy we can develop, we need to maximise the period of generation well beyond the 3 hour energy pulse offered by all previous incarnations of the barrage. A combination of tidal lagoons and other energy schemes could offer release energy for a far longer period than 3 hours and minimise any damage to the environment. By using a variety of options we could generate sustainable jobs and make Wales a world leader in developing the energy generation technology.

DEALING WITH A DEPENDENCY CULTURE

Well before the last National Assembly elections I came to the conclusion that the Labour in Wales Government in Cardiff was merely going through the motions when it comes to the government of our country. Rather than changing Wales for the better or even trying to plan for a prosperous and sustainable future it’s a case of sitting back and waiting for Labour in Westminster (London) to fix all our problems with periodic public spats with a convenient Con Dem government in London over issues that even a Westminster Labour Government would never devolve in a month of Sundays e.g. the Severn Bridge Tolls, etc.  

This if nothing else this shows the intellectual dependency on Westminster and London that runs through the heart of Labour in Wales at every level in every part of our country where Labour is in office.  At a very basic level, certainly locally in Newport (and no doubt elsewhere across our country) it appears to be literally about being there rather than doing anything in particular, that and enjoying as many of the trimmings as possible.

This is the real dependency culture that lies at the heart of the current Labour in Wales’s government in Cardiff; it revolves around the fantasy of waiting for Westminster to come to our rescue. When the next Labour in Westminster government will make it all better, banishing the nasty Tories and their cuts, etc, etc. This a fantasy, when the last Labour Government was in office well before the financial crash when the coffers were full and there was (in theory) no lack of political will; little was done to balance out the economic imbalance that lies at the heart of modern Union.  

Take energy, things are different in Scotland, as I have said before Wales is not Scotland; and what works in Scotland won’t necessarily work here. When it comes to energy generation, energy planning and growing jobs then Wales just like Scotland should be in a position to benefit from its rich natural resources. There are certainly more than enough Scottish examples to show that a whole range of entirely practical steps have been taken to generate sustainable alternative energy and jobs.

One particularly good example of the practical and the possible is the new hydro power scheme in Ross-shire which has just been given planning approval, ironically on the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the hydro power industry in Scotland. The £3 0 million pound scheme near Ardross will supply power to 4,000 homes and SSE will begin construction on the 7.5 megawatt (MW) Glasa scheme later on this year.

First Minister, Alex Salmond said: "Hydro-electric and its role in producing energy is one of the greatest industrial success stories of post-war Scotland. Hydro drove not only industrial development but also immense social achievement - something which still rings true today as the Scottish government continues to grow delivery of clean energy through renewables schemes for the 21st Century and also by retaining support for new conventional hydro schemes."

This year Scotland is celebrating the 70^th anniversary of the legislation which began the Highland hydro development boom. A 1943 parliamentary act kick-started the ‘Power from the Glens’ campaign; it brought large-scale hydro power to Scotland's lochs and rivers. After the Hydro Electric Development (Scotland) Act was passed in 1943, work started on the construction of dozens of dams and power stations.

At its peak, the workforce numbered about 12,000 men. After the Second World War, men from all over Scotland came to work on the schemes, attracted by high wages. The Glasa development will be the biggest since the Queen opened the Glendoe pump storage tunnel near Loch Ness some four years ago. Hydro electric power is an important source of energy in Scotland, where there is now some 1.5 gigawatts of capacity, or enough to supply energy to more than 900,000 homes.

A recent report has suggested that the renewable energy industry could create more than 10,000 jobs on Scotland's islands by 2030, according to a government-commissioned study. Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles would benefit from wind, wave and tidal schemes, the Scottish Islands Renewable Project final report stated. The research commissioned by the UK and Scottish governments, also highlighted the necessity of ensuring that those areas were power could be generated were connected to those areas where there was a demand for the power.

The generation of renewable energy could bring "significant benefits" to local economies through direct and indirect jobs. The report estimated that by 2020, 392 full-time jobs could be created on the Western Isles, 463 in Shetland, 416 in Orkney and 3,000 across the rest of the UK. The report suggested that by 2030 the job numbers on the islands could increase to more than 3,500 on the Western Isles, almost 2,900 in Shetland, and more than 4,500 on Orkney.

Other potential benefits of developing the renewable energy industry on Scotland's islands were also highlighted, including that the project could reduce fuel poverty and halting a declining population. Over the last 100 years the isles' population had fallen by 43% to 26,100 in 2011. The isles, researchers noted had a lower gross weekly pay compared with the rest of the UK.

Our country is rich in natural resources, some of which could be used to generate sustainable green energy and energy schemes that will deliver real benefits to our communities. While we do have some serious hydro electric projects in Wales, and not just large scale ones just like they do in Scotland, the real difference is one of scale, history and the political will.

In Wales we are in a difficult situation as while we have some of the powers necessary to create and develop sustainable green energy, what we appear to lack, at least within the current Labour in Wales government is the political will to actually do anything. We need to avoid the grim combination of Con Dem Westminster Government’s indifference (if not hostility) towards green energy and the Labour in Wales Government’s readily apparent lethargy towards smaller scale community beneficial green energy schemes. 

POOR AND DEPENDENT WEST BRITONS?

There is no reason why our country cannot be a self-reliant prosperous nation; the Welsh people are not predisposed by way of education, outlook or aspiration to be a poor people. Yet if you listen to Labour in Wales we will always be poor, we will have few economic prospects beyond handouts and independence is unaffordable, etc.  Like any simple untruth, keep it simple, repeat it often enough and people will start to believe it.

The fact that some parts of our country are suffering from a prolonged downward economic spiral that predates Labour in Westminster’s last period in power and the financial collapse should be noted. What our communities are facing now are the consequences of decisions generations of unionist (mostly Labour) politicians have consistently failed to make on behalf of Wales which are now impacting on our communities from one end of our country to the other.

Aside from the desire to make things better and the vision (something I believe that Labour in Wales is incapable of delivering) a Welsh government needs to have powers over our countries natural resources. We need to be able at a basic level to regulate, develop, control and own our sustainable energy (basically wind, water, wave and solar) resources. With the right leadership and some medium to long term thinking there is no reason why Wales cannot play a leading role in the development of a global low-carbon economy.

As a nation, when it comes to natural resources Wales is rich by way of comparison with some developing countries, our natural resources sustainably used could underpin a first class economy. The current devolution prevents a Welsh government from doing this even if it wanted too. Not for nothing was Water excluded specifically by the Labour in Westminster Government from the National Assembly’s powers and only energy projects up to 50MW (on shore) and 1 MW off-shore come under  the control of the National Assembly.

We need a Sovereign Wealth Fund for Wales to make sure that the benefits of the green energy revolution stay here rather than feeding shareholder dividends in the city (and elsewhere) and are used to ensure that the people of Wales get their full share of the energy and wealth created. Such a fund could act as a guarantee for further borrowing and could build to be an impressive multi-million pound source of funding. Some of which could be used to offer loans for small micro-generation projects.

The way things work at the moment wind farm developments tend make token gestures towards feeding some of their subsidized profits towards local communities. At best this might be considered patronizing, especially as local communities (along with the Welsh Government) are effectively excluded from any meaningful participation in the planning process if the development is over 50MW in size.

One size does not fit all, our Communities should be able to develop and benefit from small scale renewable energy projects and regeneration projects in their own areas. If we do this right then we can develop more community leadership, grow local ownership of renewable energy projects and develop more cooperative models of ownership. People living in communities close to renewable energy installations should also receive the benefits of discounted energy and local dividends for community projects.

If we do this right then our communities and our country can become less dependent and we can become more self-reliant socially and economically, ironically Labour in Wales, who are part of the problem rather than the solution, would no doubt come up with reasons to oppose any of this. We also need to ensure that democratic accountability and planning gain is built into the energy development process and that our communities are able benefit from community beneficial energy projects.

A BIG ‘YES’ TO SEVERN ENERGY

Being a big believer that we need to tap the energy potential of the Severn Estuary and no friend of a Severn Barrage I welcome the report produced by Regen SW and Marine Energy Matters on the energy potential of the Severn Estuary, which suggests that the estuary could generate 14GW of energy and create massive economic benefits without resorting to a financially costly (£34 billion pounds) and widespread environmental damage of a Severn barrage.

Tidal fence

The report (‘Bristol Channel Energy: A Balanced Technology Approach) found that by using a combination of renewable energies more low-carbon energy could be generated than that previously offered by proposals for a full Severn barrage. The report suggests using tidal lagoons and tidal fences, deployed in conjunction with tidal stream technology, wave and wind power to harness the “massive” energy potential of the estuary.

Tidal Turbines

Energy generation schemes in the Severn Estuary can benefit the communities on both sides of the estuary. It’s time for the Welsh Government to wake up and start the ball rolling with some tidal lagoon and tidal turbine development projects to test the already existing technology.

We in Wales are certainly well placed when it comes to potential for sustainable energy generation in terms of resources, people and skills. Our country has an abundance of natural resources whose potential, if sustainably developed could both protect the environment and help grow green jobs and balanced sustainable energy economy.