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Making life better for people by inspiring solutions to environmental problems

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Fill Economic Policy Vacuum with Renewable Energy Industries Say Greens

Friends of the Earth Cymru have called on First Minister Rhodri Morgan to turn his attention to the economic benefit of developing renewable energy industries in Wales. The environmental campaigners 'end of year' message comes in the wake of the critical Objective One Strategy Report (1) and the recent serious floods which have been a wake-up call about global warming.

Neil Crumpton, FOE Cymru spokesperson on energy said:
"This year, to their credit, the Assembly has moved 'sustainable development policy' to the centre of overall decision making. Now as Rhodri Morgan comes under fire for an Objective One policy vacuum we are pointing out that renewable energy industries have serious potential for economic expansion in Wales. And as understanding about global warming grows, Wales's natural resources and fledgling renewable energy sector present the Assembly with a prime opportunity to develop a sustainable economy by tackling environmental threats."

FOE Cymru say that despite the collapse of the climate change summit at The Hague last month the demand for renewable energy is increasing fast both in the UK and globally. The export potential of expertise and hardware is there for the taking and the market is truly huge. Politicians must not let concerns about a few onshore windfarms distract from the wider global picture.

There are vast areas on land and sea around many countries to deploy huge arrays of solar cells, windfarms, marine current generators, tidal generators, biomass schemes, solar chimneys, heat pumps and the like. Intermittency and energy storage is not a serious problem because hydrogen gas can be generated, piped and stored.

Nuclear energy is not needed and also poses national security threats due to terrorism and proliferation, intergenerational storage of toxic waste even if reactors could be made perfectly 'safe'.

Neil Crumpton said:
"All the worlds' energy needs can be generated by renewable technologies. Wales may well become the location for world first's in large scale marine current turbine arrays and tidal generator schemes (2) and could develop leads in offshore windfarm construction (3). We are not just saying that, it is really true."

Notes

1) Report on funding strategy progress to NAW Objective One Monitoring
Committee 15.12.00.

2) 3) See below and attached document 'FOE Cymru Presentation to Irish Sea
Forum Conference'.

Arrays of marine current turbines covering about 10 square miles would equal the output of the 1,000 MW nuclear power station - enough to supply 50% of current electricity consumption in Wales. Several square miles have been identified just off the coast of north Anglesey A 20 square mile 400MW tidal generator (rock walled lagoon which captures the rising and falling tides) is under consideration on Rhyl Flats (shallow coastal shelf). Two smaller schemes off the south Wales coast are
at design stage.

Two of six priority UK areas for first-round offshore windfarms is Liverpool Bay and Swansea Bay

Extract from National Assembly of Wales - Objective One, Single Program Document - PROGRAMME COMPLEMENT Summer 1999

Measure 2. Energy Infrastructure

Rationale

Targeted investment would greatly help address the energy dearth in more peripheral parts of the Objective 1 area. Aid for establishing grid connections for renewables projects would greatly aid business development in the more rural areas. The former would also go a long way towards the type of pump priming support needed to expand the supply of renewable energy in the region. In addition a mains gas link between Swansea and Pembrokeshire - which is along a TENs route - would provide a vital infrastructure resource for the region and help safeguard jobs in one of the most depressed parts of the region.

For major projects currently in development, Transco estimates an infrastructure cost of £114 million. Though Transco has indicated that it will pay for most, if not all, of the connection costs/general upgrades, this depends on an ‘economic test' which not all the proposed projects will meet. This figure does not include the cost of extending the gas trunk main from Swansea to Pembroke Dock. Such a link is vital for the long term future of industry in the far west of Wales and for the three major
oil refineries at Milford Haven, which are among the region's leading major quality employers.

The geography and demography of the region inhibits private sector infrastructure investment and clean energy production and associated sector developments require initial pump priming before they can achieve commercial success. Improvements to the region's energy infrastructure in more peripheral areas and increasing the production of clean energy (particularly through renewables etc) would produce significant economic, environmental, social and community benefits.

Aims and Objectives

Complete Tens supply routes in the region

To increase the proportion of clean energy produced in the region

Improving efficiency of energy supplies to peripheral areas

To promote the use of renewable energy supplies to help develop the current
network, to make a substantial reduction in overall carbon dioxide output, encourage economic development in rural areas and encourage the associated 'supply-side' industries.