Methane Jane - Spinning Again...

"Sustainability" Minister Jane Davidson launched the Welsh Assembly's new renewable energy strategy today, but when all the noble sentiments are stripped away, seems to me that the document that has been put out for public "consultation" is essentially the same dog's dinner that was fed to the hapless Welsh public with the Assembly's "Routemap" back in 2005.

The core of the Assembly's strategy revolves around the it's target for renewable electricity generation: 4 Terrawatt Hours by 2010, and 7 Terrawatt Hours by 2020. But this figure is curious enough in itself.

In other parts of the UK, and indeed on the Continent, targets for renewable energy generation are set as a simple percentage. For example, the UK government's figure is 10%, while the Scottish figure is a more ambitious 20% of electricity to come from renewable sources by 2010. By implication, in Scotland, or elsewhere, the other 80 - 90% of electricity will still come from non-renewable sources i.e. fossil fuels such as gas or coal, or nuclear.

But it's a start.

So why not a percentage figure for Wales? Why Terrawatt hours? Let's imagine for a minute that the target IS a simple percentage, and see what happens.

To hit a percentage target figure of, say 10%, implies that the amount of electricity generated from non-renewable sources is static, or declining. But what happens if the amount of electricity generated from, say, gas, is ramped up dramatically. Surely that will mean that a simple 10% target would be far harder to hit, if not impossible.

So let's say that we put a huge gas pipeline across Wales, and then we connect up a few gas-fired power stations to it, for good measure. We'll put a 2000 mw CCGT station in Pembrokeshire, an 800 mw CCGT station in Usk, and maybe another 2000mw CCGT station in Pembroke again, just for good measure. What happens to the target then?

Maybe the Assembly government had this in mind when they put together their renewable strategy, as they know that a simple "Terrawatt Hours" target is not a percentage of anything, and therefore masks the massive ramp-up in fossil fuel generation taking place across Wales, while simultaneously disguising the fact that the Assembly's target is basically nothing more than pissing in the wind.

Given the carbon-intensive nature of these industries, it will be interesting to see how the Assembly fiddles the figures for Wales' carbon emissions...

An Open Letter to Malcolm Wicks - UK Minister for Energy.

















Photo taken at the Compressor site (Late December, 2007)

A letter from a concerned Swansea resident now sits on the desk of the UK Energy Minister...

Dear Mr. Wicks,

I am writing to you as a resident in the Swansea area with grave concerns about a gas compressor station currently under construction at Llangyfelach, just outside Swansea. I am concerned about the proximity of this installation to residential properties, a proposed Strategic Business Park, and a regional hospital at Morriston.

I am sure you will recall that you opened a key valve on this site on November 27th, 2007, in your capacity as UK Minister for Energy. The Felindre Compressor station was approved by the City and County of Swansea Council at the end of 2006. I was concerned at the time that safety at this proposed installation did not receive the careful attention that I and many others felt that it merited.

These concerns were re-ignited when a National Grid public information factsheet came into my possession. This factsheet makes clear that a Hazardous Substances Consent is required for thissite. It is referred to in the leaflet as "standard practice". I enclose a copy of this leaflet for your reference. The planning case file for Felindre, held at the planning offices of City and County ofSwansea Council, makes no reference to any such application for consent ever being lodged.

I addressed my concerns about this situation to the Head of the Planning Department of Swansea Council, a Mr. Bryan Graham, at the start of December of last year. To date I have received no reply. I have also lodged a Freedom of Information Request with theHealth and Safety Executive, who, as you will know, are Statutory consultees on Hazardous Substance Consent applications.

Upon receiving the HSE's reply to my request, I was alarmed to learn that the HSE have"no record of risk assessments or site inspections", and further, that they have no record of any correspondence between themselves and City and County of Swansea in relation to this site.Were you aware, when you were on this site, that you were opening a valve on a site that has no Hazardous Substances Consent?

Given that we the public rely on the HSE's expertise to reassure us that safety has been given due care and attention - which does not appear to be the case here - can you as the Minister for Energy, assure the public in this area that safety is, indeed, paramount, in relation to this site, as the risks it poses to the surrounding area appear at this point to be totally unquantified.

If you as Minister agree that the issue of safety has not been adequately assessed by the HSE, would you support a call for both a moratorium on all construction, and a full public inquiry into this apparent breakdown of the standard process, and can you give assurances that legitimate public concernsabout safety will not disappear down a regulatory black hole?

And if you would not, why not?

Given the gravity of this situation, I await your reply with some urgency.

Yours Sincerely,


Jim Dunckley.