BORIS AND THE BEAR

There is an energy rush going on in Siberia as billions of dollars are being invested in new hydro-power dams in remotest parts of Siberia. This rush is to cash in on the export of electricity to the power hungry Peoples Republic of China. Siberia one of the world more environmentally sensitive green lungs is remote and rich in minerals and the potential of renewable energy - but how these riches are exploited has repercussions for the people on the ground and in the way.

The Angara river, which is the only river that flows out of Lake Baikal and a main tributary of the Yenisei river, which flows to the Arctic ocean has already been dammed three times, at Irkutsk, Bratsk and Ust-Ilimsk. A fourth hydro-electric dam is close to completion at Boguchanskaya, near Kodinsk, and is due to start generating power in April 2012. Many more dams are planned for the Eastern Siberian wilderness to feed the demands of electricity-hungry China.

Burning Houses in Siberia

The local people are paying this price for the energy rush as the small picture-postcard villages made up of traditional wooden houses that have grown up on its banks over the last 300 years are all being burned, so that after the area is flooded, the debris does not clog up the new dam. There have been problems with the compensation scheme, delays in payments and problems with getting new accommodation elsewhere for local people, some people are concerned that the compensation scheme is cheating people out of their land.

Russian and Siberian Environmental groups are also concerned about the impact of other dams on the river system, noting that some parts of the river have turned to swamp, buried trees have rotted and changed the chemistry of the water. Alexander Kolotov, of Rivers International, said: "They say they are building new dams on Siberian rivers in order to save the planet from Chinese greenhouse gases. So of course the question is whether you are ready to destroy the Siberian environment, kill great Siberian rivers, and flood vast forests, in order to save the world from Chinese emissions."

We in Wales, have been no stranger in recent centuries to the exploitation of our mineral (and other) resources and have had (so far) little in put either way into how they have been developed and received scant long term benefits. This has to change, whether it comes to exploitation and development of our nations energy potential, be it on or off-shore or the use of our rich water resources, the people of Wales should be fully involved in any decisions made and our wishes should be respected rather than overridden.

WATER, ENERGY AND OWNERSHIP

Not everything that works in Scotland will work in Wales, but, some things are worthy of consideration - Scotland is undergoing a sustained period of growth in small scale hydroelectric energy schemes, with scores of streams and rivers being earmarked and investigated for development. This sustainable energy 'gold rush' driven by water rather than minerals is helped by the fact that Scotland, just like Wales is blessed by pretty abundant water resources.

In Scotland, the energy consultants and developers are looking for specific locations where water that flows down steep enough slopes and ravines to allow it to generate an increasingly precious resource: energy.The Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park is supporting and encouraging the development of hydro power schemes within the park's boundaries and local communities are also planning to build their own local schemes (something that will deliver sustainable cheap energy and other financial benefits as well).

One of the reasons why the hydro rush will work and deliver long term sustainable benefits is the new feed-in tariff that came in 2010. The subsidy for producing green energy has been increased and it makes schemes more viable, which when combined with a progressive Government that is actively driving the growth of sustainable non oil and gas and non nuclear dependent energy supplies'- means that plans to develop sustainable renewable energy supplies are proceeding apace.

In truth, this is something that every Government (with or without half a brain) in Europe should be striving to actively accomplish, all this means that Scotland is on the up energy wise. One simple observation, if it works in Scotland then why can it not in Wales, are we not blessed with rain and blessed with some reasonably steep hills, the odd slopes, not to mention gully's and the occasional ravines?

I mention this because cheap sustainable secure energy is important, it's the potential game changer. The privatised energy companies are busy gouge mining profits from their domestic customers - us and piling up the dividends for their shareholders. British Gas who's operating profits rose 24% in 2010 to £742m. This news, which no doubt was welcome to shareholders, was not welcomed so warmly by domestic customers, it came barely two months after the UK utility announced a 7% rise in domestic energy bills, which it blamed on rising wholesale prices.

British Gas also said it had increased its number of customers by 267,000 during the year to 16 million. Parent company Centrica managed to achieve pre-tax profits of £2.8bn, with operating profits up 29% to £2.4 billion. Not to mention the fact that unrest in the Middle and near East is leading to a rise in Oil Prices which will also hit us at the pumps and elsewhere with increased food and energy costs.

With all that in mind why are we not seriously and actively pursuing the development of sustainable, reliable and secure (not to mention community owned and community beneficial) energy supplies here in Wales and elsewhere in the UK with a serious degree of urgency?

THERE IS ENERGY IN THEM THERE HILLS!

Scotland is in the midst of a boom in small scale hydroelectric energy schemes, with scores of streams and rivers being earmarked and investigated for development. There's a sustainable energy 'gold rush' starting in the Scottish hills. Water rather than gold is one of Scotland's most abundant resources.

What the energy consultants and developers are looking for specifically is water that flows down steep enough slopes and ravines to allow it to generate an increasingly precious resource: energy.The Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park is encouraging the development of hydro power schemes within the park's boundaries and local communities are also planning to build their own local schemes (something that will deliver sustainable cheap energy and other financial benefits as well).

One of the reasons why the hydro rush will work and deliver long term sustainable benefits new feed-in tariff that came in last year. The subsidy for producing green energy has been increased and it makes schemes more viable, this fact combined with a progressive Government that is driving the growth of sustainable non oil and gas and non nuclear dependent energy supplies'

This is something that every Government with or without half a brain in Europe should be striving to accomplish, all this means that Scotland is on the up energy wise. One simple observation, if it works in Scotland then why not in Wales, are we not blessed with rain and blessed with some reasonably steep hills, the odd slopes, not to mention gully's and the occasional ravines?

I mention this because cheap sustainable secure energy is important, it's the potential game changer. Its also worth noting the energy companies are busy gouge mining profits from their domestic customers. The latest being British Gas who's operating profits rose 24% in 2010 to £742m.This news, welcome to shareholders if no one else, comes barely two months after the UK utility announced a 7% rise in domestic energy bills, which it blamed on rising wholesale prices.

British Gas also said it had increased its number of customers by 267,000 during the year to 16 million. Parent company Centrica to achieve pre-tax profits of £2.8bn, with operating profits up 29% to £2.4 billion. Not to mention the fact that unrest in the Middle and near East is leading to a rise in Oil Prices which will also hit us at the pumps and elsewhere with increased food and energy costs.

With all that in mind why are we not seriously and actively pursuing the development of sustainable, reliable and secure (not to mention community owned and community beneficial) energy supplies here in Wales and elsewhere in the UK with a serious degree or urgency?

THE GREEN VALLEYS PROJECT

The Green Valleys project in the Brecon Beacons, which generates power from 10 wild mountain streams and aims to make the Brecon area a net exporter of electricity, has won (one of three) awards for helping to a £1m prize for saving carbon emissions at the local level, from Nesta, a lottery-funded body, which encourages innovation in the UK.

The Green Valleys project uses small scale hydro-power which does not rely on a traditional dam, but uses what’s called micro-hydro, which actually diverts up to 50% of a stream's flow into buried pipes that lead to camouflaged generators.

The Green Valleys project plans to build 40 more of such micro-power stations. Nesta estimates that with advice from energy advice surgeries, super-efficient vehicles and wood-burning stoves, 13 local communities in Brecon have cut carbon emissions by about 20% in a year.

The Green Valleys project (which was established in May 2009) is a not for profit Community Interest Company based in the Brecon Beacons National Park, which takes ideal geography and topography for small scale hydro-electric generation by making use of the small streams and steep sided valleys within the National Park area.

The project was Wales' only finalist in NESTA's Big Green Challenge competition. This is creative thinking, combined with local ownership which is benefiting the local community - another excellent example of people motivating themselves.