Royal Welsh Show visitors support vision of Wales as a leader in green energy

Visitors to next week's Royal Welsh Show will be able to support a vision of Wales leading the world in renewable energy[1].

Friends of the Earth Cymru will be asking show-goers to sign a letter to Malcolm Wicks, the UK energy minister[2], urging him to give the proposed Gwynt y Môr[3] offshore windfarm the go-ahead as soon as possible. The 200-turbine project would generate 10 per cent of Wales' electricity and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by around two million tonnes every year.

Gordon James, director of Friends of the Earth Cymru, said:

"The Gwynt y Môr offshore windfarm is precisely the sort of project we need if we're to tackle the enormous threat posed by climate change4. It would also make an important contribution towards meeting the challenging renewable energy targets for Wales and the UK[5].

"Wales is blessed with great natural resources. The Royal Welsh Show is a chance for us all to set out our vision of how Wales should be facing the future. Friends of the Earth Cymru believes this vision should include leading the world in producing clean, green energy."

NOTES

1. The Assembly Government's national economic development strategy, 'A Winning Wales' (January 2002) set out a vision of Wales becoming "a global showcase for clean energy developments and energy conservation."
2. Decision making for energy generation projects of 50MW or over lie with the Westminster Government.
3. Situated 10 miles offshore from Llandudno, it is predicted that the windfarm would produce electricity for up to 80 per cent of the time and would take less than a year to pay back the energy used in its manufacture.
4. The scientific evidence for climate change is becoming increasingly frightening. Recently, one of the world's leading climate change experts, James Hansen of NASA, warned that if we fail to take radical measures now we shall soon be facing a 'perfect storm' of irreversible climate change.
5. The EU has set challenging targets to generate 20 per cent of all its energy (electricity, heat and transport) from renewable sources by 2020. As part of this, the UK is expected to have to increase electricity generation from renewables seven fold, up from 5 per cent to around 35 per cent.