All gassed up, and nowhere to go...

A day after the European Commission agreed to look into the LNG project, a story of great significance to Welsh campaigners appeared on BBC Online.

The UK government decided to throw out National Grid's application to build a Pressure Reduction Installation at Corse, near Tirley. This installation marks the end of Phase 2 of the pipeline project.

And while the timing of this decision is curious enough, it's significance is clear: National Grid have a pipeline - but nowhere to run it to. The UK government have delivered a vote of no confidence in a key part of the project.

Perceptive readers with their critical faculties intact may ask a key question at this point: haven't the BBC been reporting the Grid's line that this pipeline project is complete?

Maybe the BBC were aware of this small conundrum when they decided to tuck this small nugget of info away in the "South-West" section of the BBC England website, where the 90% of those affected by the pipeline would be unlikely to see it...tut tut.

“It is important that we shine light into this darkness.”

The numerous safety and environmental concerns raised by residents at the LNG Terminals and along the pipeline were vindicated last Thursday when the European Committee of Petitions agreed to pass the whole issue to the European Commission for further investigation.

Members of the European Parliament sitting on the Committee sat in stunned silence as Rodney Maile, a resident from Milford Haven, laid out in graphic detail the potential consequences of an accident at the LNG terminals and jetty. While Liz Whomsley, a resident of Trebanos, in the Swansea valley showed, amongst many other things, how the lack of consultation in her area had led to the routing of a section of the massive pipeline through a geologically unstable area and even under a school playing field.

The remarkable proceedings, apparently unprecedented in the history of the Committee, were the outcome of more than 2 months of hard work by Euro MEP Jill Evans and her team, who unearthed breaches of up to 8 EU Directives. A cross-party consensus amongst the numerous political groupings on the Committee meant that it did not even have to be put to a vote.

Nevertheless, a diversity of opinions were expressed, and ordinary residents used to banging their heads against a wall of official silence sat in amazed disbelief as a full debate on the merits and de-merits of LNG unfolded across the floor.

A debate that has certainly never taken place on UK soil.

The LNG project has now been referred to the European Commission, as a matter of urgency. The Commission in turn will investigate the alleged breaches in more detail and report back to the Committee in February.

Brussels to hear anti-LNG petition.

After a brief wait, campaigners against the LNG pipeline and Terminals have confirmation that they will be called to testify to the European Committee on Petitions on December 20th.

If persuaded, they may recommend that the European Commission open an investigation into the project. We shall see.

What England Doesn't Want, Wales Gets.

I've become convinced that the UK government must a giant map somewhere, where power projects and communities are shifted around like so many pieces in a game of chess. Of course, for people who live nowhere near any of these projects, it's quite easy to be abstract and detached.

For people who have to live in the shadow of them for the rest of their lives, it can be a living hell.

Some communties seem quite happy to accept what's foisted on them. Others take a stand and fight back. And sometimes, they win. The fact that many of those communities happen to be in England, however, can create problems for poorer areas of the UK, where people may be happier to accept a few crumbs off the table.

Take Canvey Island, Essex, for example. The local council took a stand and fought off a proposal by Calor Gas, Centrica and Japan LNG to build a giant LNG terminal in the area. The scheme was earmarked to be operational by 2011. But in October of this year Calor Gas announced that they were withdrawing from the scheme, effectively killing the project.

This created a problem for the UK government. Canvey was provisionally earmarked to bring in 5.4 billion cubic metres of gas every year, a substantial proportion of the UK's overall demand. With the scheme dead, that supply will now have to come from somewhere else.

So goodbye Canvey, and hello Amlwch. And by sheer coincidence this scheme has been earmarked to be up and running by 2011 too! It all fits together so neatly...

Amlwch, however, is already a much bigger project, by Canatxx' own admission;

"When operating the plant is designed to regasify up to 3 bcf per day of LNG. This represents between 25% and 33% of UK daily total demand for gas. It will take 24 hours to discharge a tanker. At peak it is estimated that three tankers would be discharged a week."

With this plant up and running, by the UK government's target date of 2011, Amlwch, combined with Milford Haven in the south, will be importing approximately 50% of the UK's total gas requirement. Anybody who wants to take it out will know where to come.

But with a much lower population density, West and North Wales are much safer bets to site these controversial projects. People are desperate for the jobs, and planners and our representatives are happy to nod them through. So what price a couple of thousand Welsh lives, compared to the much more densely populated areas of the south east of England?

A North Wales Pipeline?

Despite objections from Anglesey town councillors concerned with the risk of terrorism and the impact on a local housing estate, the Isle of Anglesey county council today approved American multinational Canatxx's application to build a giant LNG terminal just offshore of the tiny town.

But Canatxx's application to build this giant floating bomb is only part of the story. Their overall plan is to pipe the gas to a strategic storage depot in the North-West of England. Needless to say, the massive size of this depot is only matched by the huge amount of controversy it has generated. 10,000 objections forced Canatxx's application to a public enquiry, the outcome of which is yet to be decided.

And then there is the small matter of the bit in between: the pipeline. In South Wales, the LNG terminals were common knowledge. What was less well known was that a massive, hugely destructive pipeline would be required to transport the regassified LNG to it's final destination in the English midlands, and possibly beyond.

When the UK government says there is a "National Need" for these projects, you can be sure it's not the Welsh nation they have in mind.

In the case of the Canatxx LNG Terminal, the publicly stated plan is to pipe this gas sub-sea to Fleetwood, in Lancashire. But a source within Plaid Cymru has stated that this plan has now changed: it will now run overland across North Wales into England. It's exact route at this point is unknown.

But one thing you can be sure of. The UK government and it's cronies in Wales will do everything in their power to ensure it happens. The safety of local people, or the beautiful landscape will not figure into the equation. And under new plans being cooked up in the bowels of Whitehall a new unnacountable Quango will be created to force through this massive new project, and others like it: the Independent Infrastructure Planning Commission.

There will be no Welsh representation on it.

Some Plaid AMs are already condeming the move, saying that puts us in a worse situation than Tryweryn, some 40 years ago. You have to ask the question: what are we paying for in Cardiff if the Assembly has no power to stop these things happening?

Governor General Peter Hain has thrown his support behind the plan though, which just goes to show that he is a man with two jobs and one plan: to turn Wales into an energy colony.

Who's been a naughty boy then? - Part 2.

















Well, the pipe may be up and running, but it seems that it may be running through a site that has no legal right to operate. A press release sent out on Friday makes clear that National Grid have not applied for a Hazardous Substances Consent to operate the Felindre Compressor site.

So by opening a valve on this very same site last Tuesday, a senior UK Government Minister may well have done so in breach of the law...oops.

Nothing new there then.

Given that they've produced a leaflet making clear that they do require a consent, it'll be interesting to see how they wriggle out of their much vaunted commitment to public safety this time...

The Curious Case Of The Minister And The Missing Safety Valve.

National Grid are happy as larry. Pipeline Tsar David Mercer claims today that their "tremendous engineering achievement" is now finally complete. As usual with National Grid, this claim is true, and then it's not true. A testament to Mercer's finely honed ability to twist and wriggle around the real issue, kind of like a worm on a sharp hook.

It may well be true that the pipeline is complete. The stations - without which the pipeline is useless - are another matter. They are far from complete. And when Malcolm Wicks happily flicked his safety valve at Felindre this afternoon, we can only hope that the safety valve in question was the same one that was raised by a Swansea councillor at a planning meeting at the end of last year.

At that farcical planning meeting, during which the Felindre Compressor Station was discussed and "approved", a local Labour Party councillor raised a concern about the amount of safety valves at the proposed station. This concern was based on observations made at a site visit 3 weeks previously. Exactly what was discussed on this site visit is hard to ascertain, as members of the public were excluded. The inference was that there may be a valve missing.

These valves, known in the industry as "block valves" work to isolate sections of pipeline in the event of a leak, or worse, a full blown rupture.

And while the good Councillor was concerned to clarify that there was a valve to protect the Swansea area, he inadvertedly touched on a larger issue. Many concerned residents have raised concerns about the number of safety valves along the pipeline. It's not hard to intuit that, given the length of the pipe and the tremendous pressure it operates at, there should be more than 2 valves along 314 kilometres of pipeline. This concern has never been adequately addressed.

A report commissioned by Ofgem at the end of 2005, for example, costed 2 safety valves along the 196 kilometre length of Phase 2. As it stands, there's only one, at Llanwrda. So what happened to the other one? At a cost of 250,000 quid apiece that's not even half of the cool 600,000 Chief Honcho Steve Holliday was paid last year.

With an estimated 120 tonnes of gas sitting in every mile-long stretch of pipeline, these valves are kind of important...

To put this issue in perspective, consider that Murphy pipelines, the contractor working on the eastern half of Phase 2, constructed another pipeline between Belfast and Derry in Northern Ireland a few years ago. This smaller 112 km pipeline had no less than 5 valves along it's length, even though it was contracted to operate at a lower pressure.

This issue of safety valves, while it certainly perplexed Councillor Roger Smith (Clydach), didn't stop him doing what so many other Labour councillors have done over the last 4 years. Having queried a planning officer who had just told him that the Environment Statement was a "wonderful document" even though "he hadn't read it all" he went ahead and voted for the application anyway.

Go figure.

Euro Petition Handed In...

Jill Evans (Left) and Irish MEP Kathy Sinnot hand in a joint petition to Chair Marcin Libicki

Plaid Euro MEP Jill Evans has now handed in a petition to the European Committee on Petitions. The Welsh petition has been handed in jointly with another one by Irish campaigners who are fighting a planned terminal on the Shannon Estuary.

A Terminal Problem

Gordon Brown yesterday announced new anti-terror measures, including plans to erect safety barriers around major facilities and also ensure new buildings are made from blast-proof material.

Maybe he'd like to start with the perimeter fence around the Dragon LNG terminal...

Currently winging it's way to a number of press outlets - but you heard it here first...

Ymgyrchwyr yn Erbyn y Beipen Nwy LNG yn Baratoi i Fynd i Ewrop.

Mae ymgyrchwyr yn erbyn y Terminalau a beipen nwy LNG sy’n torri trwy cymru yn baratoi i gymryd eu hachos i’r Undeb Ewropeaidd, gyda cymorth yr Aelod Seneddol Ewropeaidd, Jill Evans.

Mae Ms Evans wedi ymgynghori ymgyrchwyr o ardaloedd Penfro, Abertawe a Gastell Nedd fod nhw’n gallu gosod deiseb gyda’r Pwyllgor Deisebion ym Strasbourg, ac ei fod yn bosib y fydden nhw’n gael ymchwiliad mor gynnar a Mis Rhagfyr.

Meddai llefarydd ar ran yr Ymgyrchwyr, Jim Dunckley, "Mae Jill yn Aelod Seneddol Ewropeaidd gyda record dda o gymryd lan achosion grwpiau cymunedol ac amgylchfydol dros y flynyddoedd. Roedd hi’n mwy na hapus i siarad gyda ni a helpu ni cymryd ein hachos i Ewrop. Mae hi wedi ymgynghori ni am y bosibiliad fod y brosiect, neu rhannau o’r brosiect, yn redeg yn erbyn nifer o Directives yr Undeb."

"Er mai’r brosiect hon yn gael ei gomisiynu ar hyn o bryd, mae dal lot o gwestiynau sydd heb eu hateb gyda ni, yn arbennig am ddiogelwch a’r ffordd mae’r brosiect wedi cael ei roi trwy’r drefn cynllunio. Gan mai’r awdurdodau yng Nghaerdydd a Llundain wedi methu ni yn gyfangwbwl, teimlai fod gyda ni ddim dewis ond i fynd i Ewrop. Mae gyda ni lot fawr o dystiolaeth nawr a’r bosibiliad o gael y gyfle i dystio.

"Mae’n siom fawr i ni fod ein llywodraeth etholedig cyntaf yng Nghymru wedi methu sefyll lan i National Grid er mwyn diogelu ein cymunedau . Mi wnaethon ni ysgrifennu at y cyn Ysgrifennydd yr Amgylchfyd, Carwyn Jones i galw arno fe i "Galw Mewn" y Brosiect hon a wnaeth e anwybyddu ein llythyron. Mae’n eitha glir i ni erbyn hyn fod y Blaid Llafur yn hapus i roi Brydain yn gyntaf a werin bobl Cymru yn ail."

--Diwedd--


Pipeline Campaigners Take Their Fight to Europe.

Local campaigners from communities affected by the giant LNG pipeline project crossing Wales have teamed up with Plaid Euro MEP Jill Evans to take their case to the European Union.

Local campaigners Liz Whomsley and Jim Dunckley and other affected residents are preparing to lodge a petition with the European Committee of Petitions, and have been advised by Ms Evans and her team that the LNG pipeline project may be in breach of certain EU directives.

Jim Dunckley said: " Jill Evans is a Member of the European Parliament with a long-standing history of representing community and environmental groups, and she was more than happy to meet with us and take up our case. She has advised us that we can now lodge a formal petition, and that the Petitions Committee may invite representatives over to testify to the Committee as early as the middle of December, which is great news."

"Many of us feel that the democratic process in Wales and the rest of the UK has let us down badly, and that we are given no option but to try outside the UK. We attempted to get the relevant parts of this project "called in" by former environment minister Carwyn Jones, who refused to even meet with us or respond to many of our letters."

"There are still many unanswered questions around this project, and with the prospect of further pipeline and energy projects in Wales, a public enquiry is urgently needed. National Grid have trampled on many of our communities and ignored legitimate concerns. We need to make sure it never happens again."

--Ends--

Promises, Promises...














Well, they told us all these wonderful new gas import projects would be up and running in time, they told us the high prices over the last two years would come down. They told us all these wonderful projects would guarantee "security of supply" to Industry and the Consumers of Britain.

And they told us we could still use our Christmas tree lights and put the kettle on when the ads come on during Corrie. And they told us wrong. We're now told that we face "another winter of soaring prices and power shortages". Better get used to it. The DisUnited Kingdom sits at the end of a pipeline network that starts in Russia, and North Sea gas reserves are running down fast.

In effect, North Sea gas provided the UK with a kind of "supply cushion" that, to some extent, insulated us against the vagaries of the international energy markets. With these reserves now in rapid decline, those days are effectively over. Now we will pay the real price of privatisation.

But for the free-market diehards who have pushed this project, LNG is a wonderful thing. New technology, bigger ships and massive LNG terminals will allow gas to become a truly global trade. Middle Eastern producers like Qatar, in particular, are laughing all the way to the Royal Bank of Scotland. The world is now their oyster.

But what about the "contracts" that have been signed to bring in gas to Milford Haven, Teeside or the Isle of Grain? Milford Haven may not be up and running, but industry insiders say that the other two terminals are running below capacity.

So why are forward prices for gas and electricity already up some 30%?

When the government was crowing on about how these new LNG terminals would ensure a plentiful supply of gas for the foreseeable future, what they forgot to mention was that the contracts to ship gas into these terminals include "diversion clauses" that mean that ships can be diverted to other, higher priced markets, where the return is higher. The Shippers call the shots, not the government, and they can go where they damn well please.

These LNG privateers are now roaming the high seas in search of the highest return. They will come to Britain in the end, but not quite yet. They'll wait for prices to rise here first, so that they can make a decent killing.

But for now, with better returns to be had in Japan and South Korea, we'll just have to accept that, in the new, globalised, privatised, energy scarce world we are living in, winter price spikes are going to become business as usual.

LNG Jack-up accident: Something Deeper At Work?
















Let's picture the scene: A major Seaway on the West coast of the UK. A massive energy project under a tight construction schedule. An accident occurs involving a "Jack-up" Barge, which begins to list precariously into the sea. The workers, mostly Dutch, are quickly evacuated.

Are we talking about Milford Haven?

Nope. We're talking about the Solway Firth, on the West Coast of Scotland. Just over three weeks ago, a similar jack-up accident occured, under remarkably similar circumstances. Thirty eight contractors working on the massive Robin Rigg offshore wind-farm project were airlifted to safety in that case.

Contractors working on South Hook were not so lucky, and the Big Welsh Gas Project has now claimed it's first casualty. So what's behind this sudden spate of accidents?

In the case of Robin Rigg, German energy giant EON told a local coastguard that the rig had actually punctured through the sea bed. In industry parlance, this is known as "foundation failure." Jack-up barges, supported on four legs, are adjustable to allow them to rest securely on the sea bottom. But accidents do happen in the industry. As the Solway puncture occured, the rig listed, in this case at an angle of 35 degrees.

And not dissimilar to the 45 degree tilt reported at Milford...

The parallels don't end there either. The Dutch company which owns the Solway barge, SMIT International, recently sent another jack-up, TAKLIFT 7, to Milford Haven to work on the South Hook Jetty. These guys get about, don't they...

Needless to say, the Solway accident prompted the intervention of the Health and Safety Executive, as it has in Milford Haven. But in the case of South Hook, all the authorities seem to be keeping their cards close to their chests. No doubt the magic mantra; "20% of the UK's gas supply" has been whispered in the ears of the tiny HSE team assigned to this huge project, and they've shut up like little clams...

So rather than wait for the HSE to open up, let's be a little more pro-active and take a look at the HSE's own Industry guidance. In 2004, the Offshore Division of the HSE's Hazardous Installations Directorate produced a Science and Technology Strategy Document" which looked at precisely this issue of foundation failure.

This strategy was produced in relation to the newly developing Offshore Wind industry, but as the report pointed out 3 years before these two accidents occured; "There have already been potentially serious accidents (heavy lift crane collapse and jack-up foundation failure during site investigation)" and that "Jack-up barges have a history of structural and foundation failures when engaged in inshore and near-shore construction work."

"There is a need to determine the adequacy of current practices for the design and operation of construction barges and, if found inadequate, work with the industry to develop guidance on good practice."

Was such guidance developed in relation to LNG?

Given that the Milford Haven Port Authority has now finally given way to the demands of concerned locals and the Safe Haven group and agreed to release the Risk Assessments for the South Hook jetty, an inquiry into the causes of this particular incident seems particularly pertinent...

New Blog

Residents around Milford Haven who are concerned with the proliferation of energy projects have set up a new blog to make the public more aware of what's going on. Their primary concern is LNG but with the proposition of a massive new Biofuel plant in the offing, many are deeply worried that Milford Haven is effectively being transformed into "the largest energy port in Europe."

Check it out here

"Oversupply of gas does not mean price cuts"


This article in the Torygraph pretty much sums up the fragility of the UK's gas supply situation...

In the case of LNG, "diversion clauses" in many of the contracts mean that ships can be shifted to more lucrative markets in the event of price spikes elsewhere in the world.

So all we need is another Hurricane Katrina in the US to see our own LNG cargoes diverted across the Atlantic to meet a sudden US shortfall, and we could find ourselves with another supply shortage, and another price spike.

It's not about security of supply for us, it's about secure profit margins for Exxon and co...

Plaid MP Raises the Alarm Over "Duplicate Pipeline" Proposal

National Grid's "duplicate pipeline" proposal hit the papers this week as the Western Mail revealed that Plaid MP Adam Price is now publicly raising concerns that this is "a first step in the process to get another pipeline built across Wales".

Mr. Price has been a consistent opponent of the whole LNG pipeline project since the original pipe became public knowledge back in 2005. He rightly places the pipeline in a long tradition of exploitative energy projects imposed on Wales, the most famous of which was the drowning of Cwm Celyn in the 60s, to provide water for the Liverpool Corporation.

Needless to say, his allegations have sent the grid scurrying to cover their backsides with the usual combination of spin and misinformation. They claim in response that the document is "a technical industry document on the standard length of time it should take to connect in new sources of gas to the transmission system" and that that the "example" was used "only for illustrative purposes.”

Nice to know National Grid have a hidden artistic side...

In any case, Adam Price counters that British Gas' positive response to the exercise lends weight to the view that National Grid's proposal is a genuine industry consultation document that has been put out to key players in the gas industry.

And of course, it doesn't hurt to point out that British Gas, along with Dutch company Petroplus, is a partner in the Dragon LNG terminal in Milford Haven...

So who's right?

Well, let's ask the Regulator. On the 18th of October 2005, some six months prior to the release of the May 2006 document, a letter circulated by Ofgem to "Gas Transporters...and other interested parties" shows National Grid were putting out feelers about the duplicate pipeline even before Phase 1 of the current project had recieved approval from the Department of Trade and Industry.

Did Ofgem think it was a hypothetical exercise too?

In the last analysis this new pipe may well only be part of an industry consultation exercise. But a detailed review of the figures from each of NG's yearly QSEC (Quarterly Sale of Entry Capacity) Auctions points to a clear trend; with every new Auction, from 2004 through 2006, National Grid are continually ramping up the amounts of gas capacity they are offering to transport through Milford Haven.

Eventually, these amounts will exceed the quantity that can be physically transported by the existing pipeline (assuming it's commissioned). And at that point a second pipeline will become slightly more than "illustrative".

RWE Being Screwed?

Auntie BEEB dutifully regurgitated a little piece of corporate propaganda onto my carpet this evening.

It seems power generation company RWE Npower have decided after all to build a huge gas fired power station at Milford Haven.


The company have made clear on numerous occasions that the primary reason for selecting Milford as the site for this station is LNG.

RWE claim that this station will produce enough power "for three million homes", which is curious, as Wales itself only has around a million homes. So where's all this power going?

The answer is very generously provided by RWE's Chief Honcho, Andrew Duff; "the two developments (Pembroke and Staythorpe) will replace existing coal power stations at Didcot and Tilbury in England."

The fact of the matter is that Wales itself is already a net exporter of electricity. We produce around 33 Terrawatt hours of electricity every year, of which we only consume around 19 Terrawatt hours. The rest is exported over the border.

And while the company has not yet secured consent from the Department of Enterprise Business and Regulatory Reform for construction of this plant, you can rest assured it's already a done deal. A number of sources in the Milford Haven area inform me that construction has already begun on a connecting pipeline from the LNG terminal at Dragon to the proposed power station site at Pennar, on the other side of the Haven.

It's all part of a grand plan, you see, spoon-fed to the welsh public in small doses to make it easier to swallow.

TWINS!












An intriguing little "consultation document" tucked away in the dusty recesses of National Grid's huge, rambling website reveals that the multinational company are considering the possibility of inflicting yet another giant pipeline on the good people of Wales.

The document reveals that this pipeline will be a "duplicate" of the Milford Haven to Tirley pipeline and will not be commissioned until late 2010, at the earliest.

The original Milford Haven to Tirley pipeline was ultimately triggered by "Capacity Auctions" held by National Grid in early 2004. In it's new guise as Enron-esque international energy trader, the Grid is obliged under the terms of it's license to make gas capacity available to the big LNG shippers (i.e. ExxonMobil, British Gas etc.) NG needed 3 years from the point of the auction to design, build and commission the pipeline.

It was a lovely plan which must have looked wonderful in the Lab but didn't really take account of that unpredictable beastie - local opinion. For some reason, the idea of running a bloody great 4 foot pipe with significant safety and environmental issues through the Welsh countryside bothered quite a lot of people...

So heck, why not bother people all over again!

While NG don't make clear what route they are proposing for this new pipeline, British Gas' enthusiastic respose to the consultation gives us a few clues;

“… the planning and construction of a major civil engineeringproject can be very complex particularly where the route may involve national parks or other environmentally sensitive areas. However, the Long Term system Entry Capacity (LTSEC) allocation process had been formulated upon a 3 year lead time being sufficient for any project.”

But as National Grid point out;

"There are inherent risks with delivery of the duplicate pipeline within a nominal 3 year investment lead time, including the potential for the project to be affected by significant external factors beyond National Grid NTS’s control associated with delivering elements of the duplicate pipeline. These external factors are principally the timescales associated with obtaining consent under the Environmental Impact Assessment regulations, planning permissions and easements from landowners."

In other words, the Nod, the Handshake, and a couple of CPO's slapped on unco-operative farmers.

So there we have it. National Grid are thinking about it, British Gas want it, and the language of the document is revealing inasmuch as "a duplicate pipeline" quickly metamorphoses into "the new duplicate pipeline" later on in the text.

Do you get the feeling that somebody somewhere has already made their mind up?

Who's Been a Naughty Boy Then?

Councillor Ioan Richard, "The People's Representative" and Champion of the Upland Commons of Swansea, hasn't quite been upfront with the goods.

Last year, during a key planning vote for a Gas Compressor Station in his ward, councillor Richard voted for the application. The Compressor vote took place under highly dubious circumstances.

That's the polite way of putting it.

Voicing his opposition to a small wind turbine in Tesco's Car Park, Councillor Richard declared an interest and withdrew. The People's Rep is well known for his opposition to Wind Farms. He later returned to vote through the massive gas installation is his ward. Hmmmm. So why is Ioan such a big fan of fossil fuels?

A few months later, an interesting little article appears in the South Wales Evening Post. Councillor Richard is quoted parrotting National Grid's promotional speil; "20% of UK gas supplies etc." But tucked away in the piece is a very relevant little bit of info: the Grid awarded money from their fund to the Craigcefnparc Welfare Hall.

A hall which Ioan Richard happens to be a Trustee of, through his membership of Mawr Community Council.

Don't remember Ioan declaring an interest in that one though...

One Wales, Many Power Projects.

Well, Rhodri and Ieuan have gone ahead and done the deal. So from an energy point-of-view it pays to take a closer look at the “One Wales Accord” document, and see exactly what it means for us here in Wales.

And as it turns out, what’s not mentioned in the document is every bit as intriguing as what is.

There are a plethora of power projects currently under construction or consideration in Wales at the moment, many of which do not fall into the remit of the Welsh Assembly. Because many of them have a generating capacity over 50MW, they will be decided by the new Department for Business and Regulatory Reform (DEBRR, formerly the DTI) in London.

Given Labour’s track record over the last 10 years, you can safely take “Regulatory Reform” to mean “Deregulation”.

This issue of control over large power projects, however, is not something the Labour Administration in Cardiff have been insensitive to, and, a few years ago, former Enterprise Minister Andrew Davies made representations to the DTI, seeking devolution of large power station consents to the Assembly. In response to this, it was agreed to set up a three-way committee to look at the process, the Tripartite Group on Energy Consents.

This little-known group, split between the Welsh Assembly, DTI and the Welsh Office, have largely deliberated outside of the public gaze.

The funny thing is, no mention is made of this Group in the new Accord. Indeed, under Part 8 of the Accord, the only drawdown of powers that the new Plaid/Labour administration will seek, in order to tackle the huge problem of climate change, is control over Building Regulations. A useful step, I’m sure, but hardly earth-shaking.

So what exactly has this Group been discussing, and why is there no mention of it in the Accord? What exactly are Plaid’s Labour partners up to?

SYRIANA

I watched a very insightful and thought provoking film the other night. On the face of it, Syriana, an Academy Award-winning film starring American actor George Clooney, starts off about Oil, and ends up about Gas. But ultimately, maybe, it’s about Energy, and thus, Power, and who wields it, and the secret places they wield it from.

The film pans out across disparate locations around the globe, unconnected like random points of light viewed from space. Iran. China. Geneva, Switzerland. The United States (of course). Russia. Marbella, Spain. Holiday resort, or a good place to do deals? The film skips about and confuses the viewer, but maybe it’s just that we live in a confusing world, where the locus of responsibility is hard to pin down, and this film just embraces that reality.

Corporate mergers. Shell companies and dodgy accounting practices. Warring royal factions in the Middle East. CIA intervention. Hizbollah. Beirut. Assassinations and internal investigations. Derivatives trading. Peak Oil and Pipelines. Madrassas. Suicide Bombers. Take your shiny corporate coin and flip it to reveal the dark reality of our growing dependency on a world that even the Central Intelligence Agency doesn’t understand anymore…

And so on one level it may never make sense to us how “radical” Islam could drive a young Pakistani boy into seeking illumination in the path of an LNG tanker. And what use a double-hull against the best American-made weaponry? Is this what the intelligence community means by “Blowback”?

But squint your eyes and the vast, floating bomb you witness at the end of this chilling film could well be destined for, or even moored in Milford Haven, and then you’ll realise the real truth, tucked between the multilayered sheets of this revealing clever film.

That Syriana is here too. It’s everywhere.

Watch this film.

A River Runs Through It…

2007 is proving to be an unpredictable year on the weather front. After practically the hottest April on record, May has proved to be a bit of a wet blanket. The Environment Agency, in particular, must be breathing a sigh of relief.

April’s hot weather prompted them to urge the public to conserve water, amid fears of a drought this summer. In response to this, pipeline action group the Safe Haven Network were quick to point out their hypocrisy; National Grid’s contractor Nacap Land and Marine have an application lodged with the Agency to extract thousands of gallons of water from major Welsh rivers like the Tawe, Loughor and Lliw to “hydrostatically test” the pipeline.

In plain english, this means they will pump thousands of gallons of water from our rivers and run it through the pipeline at extremely high pressures. If any section of the pipe ruptures under this pressure (given the rust, this wouldn’t be surprising…) then National Grid have a problem. And their contractor Nacap Land and Marine JV (Dutch contractor Nacap BV now owns former partner Walter Lawrence) already has a dodgy reputation when it comes to polluting rivers…

Given April’s weather and the possibility of drought, rumours have abounded that maybe Nacap weren’t going to use water after all – one, rather far-fetched suggestion was that they would use Nitrogen instead – surely that would make it “Nitrostatic testing”? While it's true that an order has been placed for Nitrogen to be used in the pipeline - it's more likely to be earmarked for "Pigging", whereby a guage will be propelled through the pipeline to scan for any defects in the welds or inner lining. As another key safety check, Pigging will certainly be carried out on most, but not necessarily all of the pipeline, as we shall later see...

In light of this rumour, a supporter of the Network contacted the DTI for clarification. The response, now forwarded to yours truly, was as follows…

“Dear ----

As far as DTI is aware the pipeline will be hydrotested, as the name
indicates, with water. I have no idea where the suggestion for nitrogen
to be used to test the integrity of the pipeline originates. National
Grid nor its Works Contractors have sought DTI's agreement for another
means of testing of the pipeline.”

Regards

Gary

Gary Mohammed
Manager, Power Station and Pipeline Consents
Department of Trade and Industry.

As self-proclaimed champions of the Welsh environment you’d hope the EA will do the right thing when it comes to these applications. A company with a known pollution record has applied to extract water to test a pipeline which will only contribute to the huge problem of Climate Change. As last year’s Stern Report pointed out, Gas Transmission and Distribution is the single biggest source of Carbon Emissions in our economic system.

Unfortunately there’s another rumour going round (with a rather stronger basis in fact) – and that is that the EA’s dedicated pipeline team are being paid for by National Grid…

He Ain't Heavy, He's My "Sister"!

Phase 2 of the pipeline is well underway, and National Grid's heavy lorries are harassing the small villages of the Amman and Tywi valleys, causing much danger and distress to the local population.

And in the time-honoured spirit of an area renowned for the "Hosts of Rebecca", local Llandybie town councillor "Rebecca" Bowen took matters into his own hands last Friday.

For those of you who don't know "Plaid" councillor Bowen, he was campaign manager for a candidate who stood for campaign group Stand Your Ground in the recent Assembly elections, a group who have declared a "United War on White Collar Fraud, Corruption & Skullduggery".

Frustrated at being unable to obtain a copy of the local Traffic Management Plan from the local council, and suspecting Skullduggery was at play, Councillor Bowen laid under a heavy lorry in protest.

Two hours of this protest ended when Councillor Bowen was allowed to view the plan at the constructor's offices. Nevertheless, he was cautioned by the police.

You may think he was cautioned by the Fashion Police, but nay, it was Dyfed Powys Police. He was then free - to continue on his merry way!

Let's see if they print it...

Dear Editor,

I read with some dismay that yet again Neath Port Talbot councillors and planners have chosen to ignore the justified and real concerns of the people of Cilfrew and the surrounding area, and vote in a majority to approve National Grid’s application to build a gas pressure reduction station outside their village. As is well known by now, this station is part of a much larger strategic infrastructure project to bring LNG into Milford Haven and pump it under very high pressures to its ultimate destination – the main gas network in England.

To do this, another gas station is being constructed to the north of Swansea, next to the old steelworks site at Felindre. This station, known as a Compressor, will, when completed, be three times the size of its cousin at Cilfrew. It will be fed by not one pipeline, but three, and will sit next to a 400kilovolt electrical substation. It was put for approval before Swansea council at the end of last year and voted through, under very dubious circumstances. Members of the public were forbidden from attending the site visit for “security reasons”.

Given the fact that these stations are being fed by pipelines running at unprecedented pressures, members of the public have every right to be concerned. A few weeks ago, a fire in close proximity to a much smaller pressure reduction valve on an industrial estate near Basildon, Essex, saw emergency authorities and National Grid engineers cordon off the area and erect a 2 mile square exclusion zone. Such a zone, centred on the much bigger Felindre Station, would encompass the Swansea North substations (power supply for much of the Swansea area), the proposed Felindre Strategic Business Park site, Morriston Hospital, and part of the M4. Have planners and councillors in Swansea really thought through the implications?

There may or may not be a valid strategic justification for this whole pipeline project. But when safety concerns and inconsistencies about this project remain unanswered, and parts of this project pose a possible risk to key facilities of strategic value to us, the people of South Wales, we have every right to object, and in the strongest possible terms.

Your Sincerely,


Jim Dunckley.

The Madness of King George

Take a look at the picture above. It may look like an industrialised,
toxic nightmare. In fact it's a playing field. Children and adults relax
and engage in recreation here.

Parc Ynysderw was originally a tinplate works in Trebanos, in the heart of the Swansea Valley. In the 1970s and early 80s it was reclaimed, the remaining waste tip was "capped" and a new school was built on the site - Cwmtawe Comprehensive.

The remainder of the site was dedicated in 2003 as "King George V" Playing Fields, charitable trusts set aside for the enjoyment and social benefit of the community. As such it plays host to numerous sporting events, along with big cultural festivals such as the Swansea Valley Agricultural Show and the Pontardawe Festival.

It also now plays host to the biggest high pressure gas pipeline of it's kind in Western Europe.

200 years of industrialisation have deeply scarred the valleys of south wales, and the tender wounds of time are slow to heal. Now they are being torn open again - by a new wave of energy projects that will criss cross the once tranquil countryside of our nation.

As a King George V playing field, Parc Ynysderw is held in trust jointly by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council and the National Playing Fields Association. It's now clear that Neath Port Talbot knew about this project at least 3 years ago. The NPFA, on the other hand, have never been consulted.

Enquiries from both local residents and the NPFA about the level of compensation recieved by Neath Port Talbot Council from National Grid have been met with silence. And because an alternative venue could not be found, 25 years of history have come to an end with the winding up of the Swansea Valley Agricultural Show.

Enquiries to the Environment Agency about the actual levels of contamination on the fields have also largely been met with silence. After 6 months of hassle from local residents the Agency finally coughed up and revealed that there was at least some contamination present. 6 months which by happy coincidence takes National Grid a large step closer to completing construction of their pipeline and burying it away from the public eye. Out of sight, out of mind, as they say.

There is only one thing that will force the EA to do it's job and ensure that all the necessary safeguards and consents are in place, and that's sustained public pressure. The EA have got to at least maintain the pretence that they care about people's health and cleanliness of environment.

So why not give them a shout? Hassle them. Ask them if NG have submitted a Risk Assessment for working on a contaminated site. Ask them if NG have agreed a Waste Management Plan with the Agency - and the Local Authority. Ask them if there is a Pollution Prevention Plan. Or an Emergency Response Plan? As them if Nacap Land and Marine have a license to work on the site.

With a new school term in progress, once again Nacap Land and Marine are busy at work on the fields, and once again children are playing and studying next to an unregulated site. Don't let Neath Port Talbot Council or the Environment Agency get away with it.

Contact;

Ged Davies, Environment Agency,

South West Area Office,

Maes Newydd,

Llandarcy,

Neath

West Glamorgan

SA10 6JQ

E-mail; ged.davies@environment-agency.gov.uk

Will Watson,

Director, Environmental Department.

Neath Port Talbot Council.

E-mail; <environment@npt.gov.uk>

Welsh Assembly authorises destruction in the Geopark.














An innocuous series of public advertisements in last Thursdays Western Mail reveals the Welsh Assembly's true level of commitment to protecting the land and heritage of Wales. The Assembly have issued a series of certificates authorising permission for National Grid to compulsorily purchase areas of common land in the Brecon Beacons.

One of these areas is Mynydd Myddfai, in the heart of a Geopark and UNESCO World Heritage site.

Under the Government of Wales Act, responsibility for "special types of land", including common land, was devolved to the Welsh Assembly. It's curious therefore that senior Assembly officials and ministers, including pro-devolution Carwyn Jones, are denying these powers exist.

No less than 7 areas of common land lie in the path of the pipeline. Many of them are designated nature reserves and open access areas, important resources of tourism and recreation for their localities. The Assembly had the power to open public local inquiries into National Grid's plans, but as with all else, it has chosen to bow to political expediency and push these proposals through with a minimum of fuss and enquiry. At every bend and turn of this project, senior AMs, including so-called "Social Justice" Minister Edwina Hart, have passed the buck to the DTI.

Yet the Assembly's real powers are quite clearly laid out in internal memoranda put out to advise the Assembly's own Ministers and officials. It's curious that Carwyn Jones of all people - a barrister by trade - should choose to ignore these memoranda, and risk running in the face of the law in the process.

After all, he signed them.

Heddlu'n Beio Pensiynwyr am Godiad Trosedd yn Y Sgiwen!

Os mae'r Heddlu yn mynnu ar actio fel ryw fath o gwmni ddiogelwch preifet i National Quid, falle dylse NQ yn talu am swyddogion ychwanegol - yn lle talwyr treth Castell Nedd Port Talbot...

If South Wales police insist on acting like National Quid's private security firm, then maybe National Quid should foot the bill for extra coppers - rather than the cash-strapped council-tax payers of Neath Port Talbot...

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/2000localinfo/neathguardian/news/tm_headline=pipeline-protesters--to-blame-for-rising-crime-&method=full&objectid=18694477&siteid=50082-name_page.html#story_continue

The Greenhouse Effect
















2007 marks the 10th anniversary of the narrow "Yes" vote by the Welsh people for the first democratically elected body to represent Wales since the time of Owain Glyndwr.

It's also marks a new year for people in Wales to go to the polls in May and vote on a whole range of issues, ranging from Health to the status of the Welsh language.

A key plank that this election will be fought on is the whole issue of climate change and the developing energy crisis that is forcing governments the world over to re-evaluate their dependence on fossil fuels and look to cleaner, renewable alternatives.

Yet we have a Labour Assembly administration in this country that refuses to discuss the single biggest and most important energy project ever undertaken in Welsh history. The Welsh electorate will be accorded the right to see the trees being cut down by National Grid for it's pipeline project, while the Assembly denies any responsibility for the wood.

Under Section 121 of the Government of Wales Act, the Welsh Assembly has a constitutional obligation to "promote suatainable development in all it does". It's one of only 3 government in the world to have such a requirement built in.

Yet all the way along the route of this pipeline, our National Assembly and it's Members have publicly denied having any responsibility for this project, while privately working to facilitate it. Footpaths have been closed, community-owned woodlands have been chopped down, common land is being compulsory purchased, and a Geopark and UNESCO World Heritage Site sits on the brink of destruction. So much for section 121.

You've gotta ask the question: when the sea level rises and drowns our beaches, where will these guys find the sand to bury their heads?

Time for National Grid to split?

Amazing to think that this camp started with a little black dog called Max! What you're looking at is a public footpath (part of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path) that National Grid rather foolishly forgot to close off. A local landowner regularly walked her dog along the path, and couldn't work out why the contractors hadn't bulldozed through it yet. Residents in the area, inspired by the Trebanos protest camp, took a chance and pitched up.

While Milford Haven hasn't hogged as much of the limelight as it's sisters up the line, it's probably the most strategically significant as it prevents National Grid from connecting the pipeline to the terminals. No connection, no gas. Simple.

GGATCHA!

Construction of the pipeline hit a small hitch last year when excavation uncovered a Bronze Age canoe, widely reported in the media. What the media conveniently omitted was the fact that the pipeline ploughed through an entire Bronze Age village in the process of retrieving this canoe.

Oddly enough, despite the fact that the canoe was discovered in Pembrokeshire, the canoe was donated to the Glamorgan Gwent Archaeological Trust, where it is held in Newport. As it turns out, GGAT is a statutory consultee for Phases 1 and 2 of the pipeline route. Maybe this would explain GGAT's silence over this act of wanton destruction...

Archaeologists are still uncertain as to whether the object is definitely a canoe, or maybe a trough of some kind. Well, if it's a trough, it's not hard to spot the snouts...

Residents of the small town of Amlwch on Anglesey may be gearing up to oppose plans by American energy multinational Canatxx to build an LNG terminal and pipe it undersea to Fleetwood in Lancashire. The company, which plans to store some of this gas in massive salt caverns, has already sparked local opposition in Lancashire. Check it out here:

http://www.thorntonactiongroup.co.uk/

No doubt arguments about this development will polarise into the usual "Jobs versus Environment" where locals in one of the poorest areas of Wales, let alone the United Kingdom, are forced to choose between the few jobs created by these massive developments, at the expense of a clean, safe environment to live in.

But given LNG is a specialist industry relatively new to the UK, how many of those jobs will be filled by local people anyway?