tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-343434692023-11-16T03:04:58.096-08:00The Big Welsh Gas ProjectUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-76281402797040588052014-04-12T06:31:00.001-07:002014-04-12T06:47:01.006-07:00The Welsh Government: quietly supporting the Shale gas revolution. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="text-align: center;">A </span><a href="https://planning.npt.gov.uk/fulldetail.asp?AltRef=P2014%2F0217&ApplicationNumber&AddressPrefix=foel&submit1=Go" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: lime;">new application</span></a><span style="text-align: center;"> to drill a borehole for Coal Bed Methane and Shale gas exploration in the Port Talbot area poses new questions about the role of the Welsh Government in the development of unconventional gas in the Welsh coalfields. The application, lodged by UK Methane Ltd. is on land that is directly owned by the Welsh Government itself, and while novel , shouldn’t be hugely surprising.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=34343469" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=34343469" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=34343469" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=34343469" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>In the midst of the barrage of claims, counterclaims and spin flying around the whole issues of “Unconventional Gas”, the Welsh Government has been largely silent on the issue, but as with most things in Cardiff Bay, things are quietly developing behind the scenes. So let’s start at the top.<br />
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At a <a href="http://wales.gov.uk/docs//dfm/minutes/cabinet/131125shalegaspolicyen.pdf"><span style="color: lime;">Cabinet meeting</span></a> of the Welsh Government back in November 2013, Carwyn Jones himself brought a new document to the table – a draft policy document on Shale Gas. The thrust of this document, while hedged around with caveats, is broadly supportive. What it also makes clear is that the Welsh Government is taking an active role in the assessment of the full extent of the unconventional gas resource in Wales. To this end, they have commissioned the British Geological Society to undertake a survey of the potential Welsh resource. The BGS are due to report back shortly.<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=34343469" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=34343469" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=34343469" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=34343469" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
The recommendations of this document were approved by the Cabinet but strangely for an administration usually eager to crow it’s achievements from the rooftops, it was agreed not to publicise this determination in the press.<br />
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One very interesting piece of information is the onus placed on the new Regulator, Natural Resources Wales, to ensure that all the appropriate environmental safeguards are in place. Yet <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-26762807"><span style="color: lime;">questions are already being raised</span></a> from a number of quarters about potential conflicts on interest with a body which is supposed to on the one hand pursue a conservation agenda, while also issue permits for new energy projects.<br />
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Which brings us neatly back to Port Talbot.<br />
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For in the case of the Port Talbot application, it’s quite clear that the body responsible for giving out the environmental permits is also the body that manages the land on behalf of the landowner, the Welsh Assembly Government. It appears at this point that this body has <a href="http://planning.npt.gov.uk:8251/view.aspx?Doc=414206"><span style="color: lime;">consented</span></a> to allow an activity with unquantified environmental consequences to take place on land under it’s care.<br />
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So what reason do we have to assume it’s not going to continue in this vein and give out the permits too? Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-22132717317677160012014-04-09T02:48:00.000-07:002014-05-17T09:54:58.616-07:00The Vaughan Legacy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj11b40NEc0a1nPx_Nqv0hBP5G_jBFAb3HN69SoWOqJ_PvjMEsmxQ7V9vCZHRdYWQZuMqv2BtjHutu0Hpx9HLAiegAYys7BlhlxzWjPPDzGkCksmxMWl7u8uhUWlVLmcrcdYxk2oQ/s1600/MEP-Derek-Vaughan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj11b40NEc0a1nPx_Nqv0hBP5G_jBFAb3HN69SoWOqJ_PvjMEsmxQ7V9vCZHRdYWQZuMqv2BtjHutu0Hpx9HLAiegAYys7BlhlxzWjPPDzGkCksmxMWl7u8uhUWlVLmcrcdYxk2oQ/s1600/MEP-Derek-Vaughan.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Letter to the Western Mail (and shortly all the other main local papers in Wales)...<br />
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Dear Editor, <o:p></o:p></div>
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On the face of it, Derek Vaughan’s voting record in the
European Parliament – at 93% - makes for
an impressive statistic. In my experience, however, it always pays to get
behind the statistics to get the real story. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So, for example, in a vote in the
European Parliament on March 12th, 2014, Mr. Vaughan backtracked on a prior
commitment (made in a vote on October 9<sup>th,
</sup>2013) to ensure that all unconventional gas projects were subject
to mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment. This follows a vote on November
21<sup>st</sup>, 2012 in which Mr. Vaughan opposed a motion – co-sponsored by
fellow Welsh MEP Jill Evans – to place a moratorium on “fracking” until key
safety concerns are fully addressed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So as readers can see, statistics
do not tell us the whole story. In fact they disguise the abject betrayal by
Mr. Vaughan of coalfield communities that are being earmarked for the large
scale exploitation of our abundant gas resources without even mininal
environmental safeguards. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s not just about the
impressive size of Mr. Vaughan’s voting record, it’s what he does with his vote
that counts. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Yours Sincerely,<o:p></o:p><br />
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Jim Dunckley. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-79240874931402501192014-02-05T12:00:00.002-08:002014-02-05T12:58:43.352-08:00"Why Are You Using Loughor As A Guinea Pig?"<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: -7.1pt; margin-right: 20.15pt; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTaSFPf_NC6AfuQsppEHrCCY-diEGVshcaqNjfyc0SA1ub-_kyTLBzgy8teMwxRUeHsbY9XmbSGgeLyAOdpk85BT7secEA9H0R3a69lNqsnSfJ_cOEJI-zJ2ASbXI2O0iLO5nk8A/s1600/The_Loughor_Estuary_-_geograph.org.uk_-_518912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTaSFPf_NC6AfuQsppEHrCCY-diEGVshcaqNjfyc0SA1ub-_kyTLBzgy8teMwxRUeHsbY9XmbSGgeLyAOdpk85BT7secEA9H0R3a69lNqsnSfJ_cOEJI-zJ2ASbXI2O0iLO5nk8A/s1600/The_Loughor_Estuary_-_geograph.org.uk_-_518912.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Credit: Ben Croft</td></tr>
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A recent packed public meeting in Burry Port saw heated exchanges as the company behind a proposed gas development in the Burry Inlet was forced to admit to an “uncontrolled explosion” at a Spanish trial site.<br />
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The company, Cluff Natural Resources Ltd, was forced into the red-faced confession at a recent meeting organised by Llanelli MP Nia Griffiths. Their proposal to develop an “Underground Coal Gasification” project in the Inlet was branded by one resident as an “experiment” when company representative Dr. Michael Green was forced to concede the accident had happened at a European trial site at El Tremadal, Spain.<br />
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The explosion, referred to by Dr. Green as a “Blowout”, raises disturbing echoes of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico back in 2010, when a similar type of explosion led to the largest offshore oil spill in US history.<br />
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In the case of the El Tremedal site, at a remote rural location, the accident led to short-term contamination of the site, but questions remain about the potential impact of such an accident on a protected marine site and near a heavily built-up area. Further testing on the site was abandoned following the incident.<br />
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And while environmental concerns are central to the anxieties of many residents in the area, economic concerns also persist in the wake of the debate around possible sewage impacts on the Inlet’s multi-million pound cockling industry. As one exasparated resident put it “This whole area was given over for the commercial fishing of Bass in the 1980s, I just can’t believe I’m listening to this.” <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-65537555292260441092014-02-02T13:13:00.004-08:002014-02-02T13:51:32.775-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21.466665267944336px;">What goes around comes around.</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgriabwydhi5K-733H4ZWxcPwvYPNodnMOWfnr9ooIAA67fX_LtkovHJBVG7f5cI-9t6IQrhXYNrqmaGy98OW3faOs8H6WmCtoXvTVQteCvrOROFYSdxvEqOG5vKu5wVSDeaprWkA/s1600/Broon_LNG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgriabwydhi5K-733H4ZWxcPwvYPNodnMOWfnr9ooIAA67fX_LtkovHJBVG7f5cI-9t6IQrhXYNrqmaGy98OW3faOs8H6WmCtoXvTVQteCvrOROFYSdxvEqOG5vKu5wVSDeaprWkA/s1600/Broon_LNG.jpg" height="220" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: '', sans-serif, '', serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;">Four
and a half thousand miles away from where I sit and type, on the other side of
the Atlantic, sits a massive industrial complex. On the edge of the Gulf of
Mexico, in the heart of Cajun country, it’s an incongruous sight. It dominates
the skyline. A vast terminal for the processing of imported Liquefied Natural
Gas, or LNG.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"> On the banks of the Sabine River,
Louisiana, the <a href="http://www.cheniere.com/LNG_terminals/sabine_pass_lng.shtml"><span style="color: red;">Sabine Pass LNG Terminal</span></a> was designed to plug
the United States’ growing energy gap. Commissioned in 2008, it was part of a
global wave of LNG developments that were pressed into service as natural gas
and oil prices rocketed on the back of a global boom that soon turned into a
bust.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"> But within two years of opening,
the owners of Sabine Pass had a new idea. A new buzzword had caught hold in the
States, “<i>Shale gas</i>”, and as anxiety turned to ambition, the owners
decided to flip the coin and re-jig the whole facility –</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23317370"><span style="color: red;">for export</span></a></span><span style="color: red; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">.</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"> One of their first contracts will be with </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.centrica.com/"><span style="color: red;">Centrica</span></a></span><span style="color: red; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">,</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"> parent company to the corporation
better known to you and me as British Gas.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"> British Gas are no stranger to
LNG. On the other side of the Atlantic, in Milford Haven, BG own a 50% stake in
the </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">"</span><span style="color: red; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.dragonlng.co.uk/"><span style="color: red;">Dragon LNG Terminal</span></a>"</span><span style="color: red; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">,</span></span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;">approved amid controversy and protest
nearly 10 years ago. Ten years ago, LNG and other imported sources of gas were
hailed as a “stable and secure supply of energy” by no less an authority than
Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"> But flip the coin again, and
you’ll hear exactly the same mantra coming from the lips of the current Tory
Prime Minister as he hails shale gas in the UK as a “supply of cheaper, more
secure energy.”</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"> Ten years on, LNG offers a
salutory lesson for those still naïve enough to believe the promises of the
politicians and the “power pirates”. Ten years ago we were told by a Labour
Government that LNG would provide a stable source of energy supply and lead to
lower gas prices. Ten years later, with more than </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.thegwpf.org/welsh-families-living-fuel-poverty/"><span style="color: red;">one-third of Welsh families in fuel poverty</span></a>,</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"> those promises look pretty hollow.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"> Because what the politicians
didn’t tell the people is that the ships weren't obligated to come to
British ports.</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://thebigwelshgasproject.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/lets-make-it-date-then-finally-after.html"><span style="color: red;">They go to the highest bidder</span></a></span><span style="color: red; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">. </span><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">As North Sea gas reserves continue to run down, the consequences of our dependence on the whims of the global market couldn't be more stark. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"> And beyond this, LNG exposes the
hypocrisy at the heart of a “Green” movement which had nothing to say when LNG
terminals and pipelines were being constructed across South Wales, but now
finds a fertile recruiting ground here for protests against Shale Gas in
Balcombe and other leafy areas of England. At the time, “<i>Friends of the
Earth</i>” for example, argued that LNG was </span><span style="color: red; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmwelaf/876/87608.htm"><span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“…an essential part of the fuel mix for the UK for the medium
term future".</span></a></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"> A mere six years later, FoE cite
LNG as part of <a href="http://www.foe.co.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/gas_price_briefing.pdf"><span style="color: red;">“ a gas habit…that we need to kick”</span></a>. So what’s
changed?</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"> And as the Shale gas revolution
(and it’s close cousin, Coal Bed Methane) gets into swing across the UK, is it
really any coincidence that many of the boreholes in South Wales are being
drilled along a pipeline route that FoE & Co. had nothing to say about?
Or that the same company involved in shipping gas from the United States –
Centrica – also has licensing rights for Coal Bed Methane in areas such as
Neath, where the pipeline terminates? We think not.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"> And so we enter a whole new
phase of the Big Welsh Gas Project; a phase which we warned about</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">"</span><span style="color: red; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://thebigwelshgasproject.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/south-wales-valleys-new-gas-klondike.html"><span style="color: red;">5 years ago</span></a>"</span><span style="color: red; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">,</span></span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;">long before the Government or the Green movement
jumped on the Shale gas bandwagon. And just as LNG in Wales was widely ignored
by a London-centric media for which Balcombe is a mere hop and a skip for your
average lazy Metropolitan hack, so you can guarantee that not much is going to
change this time around.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"> Hence the resurrection of this
blog.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt;"> And in much the same way that
Wales is a resource open to exploitation by just about every energy company you
can name right now, this blog aims to be a resource, a toolkit for communities
willing to take a stand and fight. All you have to do is read and click on the
links<b>.</b> So read on!</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-78161520150132178852008-12-11T16:41:00.000-08:002008-12-11T17:16:14.658-08:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Let's Make it a Date Then!</strong></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig0yNzpsRtNKS5oDJOKyAps8R04W0b5BQdVrFd7Xdtp3MMRWCv3QR83SMIQpjn90FKLSgpjf4AeqK8n4KXMYUYePgBqXHin5UeOGW5wzHf5gYSlSec6T5YO6sM8LurQyV54eCT0w/s1600-h/atlantic_north_1803.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278705845405854594" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 244px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig0yNzpsRtNKS5oDJOKyAps8R04W0b5BQdVrFd7Xdtp3MMRWCv3QR83SMIQpjn90FKLSgpjf4AeqK8n4KXMYUYePgBqXHin5UeOGW5wzHf5gYSlSec6T5YO6sM8LurQyV54eCT0w/s320/atlantic_north_1803.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Finally! After a year and a half of delays, a date has been sketched in for the <a href="http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article168053.ece"><span style="color:#33ff33;">commissioning</span></a> of South Hook LNG. Funnily enough, this date pretty much co-incides with the commissioning of a number of other LNG terminals, too. One of them is called <a href="http://www.edisongroup.eu/edison/site/en/pressroom/index.html?&uri=/shared/press/ir/n20settembre2008.html"><span style="color:#33ff33;">Adriatic LNG</span></a>, in the Mediterranean, and the other is Golden Pass LNG on the other side of the Atlantic in the US.<br /><br />So do they have anything else in common?<br /><br />Well, as it happens they do, and they go by the name of Exxonmobil and Qatargas. These two companies have majority interests in all three terminals. So here goes my theory...<br /><br />Our brand spanking new supersized Q-Max tanker loads up in Qatar, and makes it's way up the Suez canal. Once in the Mediterrannean, it has a choice. It can either make it's way to the Adriatic Terminal, or head out the straits of Gibraltar towards either South Hook, or Golden Pass on the other side of the Atlantic. It all depends on where it can get the best return. If it can get a good price in the UK, it'll go to the UK. If the prospects are better in the US, it'll go there, and ignore the UK, until wholesale gas prices rise enough to justify bothering with us. In the industry, they call it "Arbitrage".<br /><br />The date sketched in for South Hook is early 2009. Golden Pass is mid 2009. Then we're back into Winter 2009, when Gas prices tend to rise, and Exxon and pals can take their pick while we freeze...<br /><br />Welcome to the brave new world of LNG!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-67034380505754734012008-08-25T14:47:00.000-07:002008-08-25T15:02:24.673-07:00<p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Irish Unification - Electrically.</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo7ghzc80zByd2BM911EYAkZ30zrgqO1Myyb1QqFq5JEHdt0HIuHFyCM_KeHf9arGresGXpqpbXDAeyfc9P1QKaSSj3CFIeQHUN17viov_A9AzEM4dxZZ7VRJxPygj71o0BFzNTQ/s1600-h/EirGrid+logo.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238576788072983074" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo7ghzc80zByd2BM911EYAkZ30zrgqO1Myyb1QqFq5JEHdt0HIuHFyCM_KeHf9arGresGXpqpbXDAeyfc9P1QKaSSj3CFIeQHUN17viov_A9AzEM4dxZZ7VRJxPygj71o0BFzNTQ/s400/EirGrid+logo.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></p><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p></p><p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>On the 22nd of August, a small but significant step occurred on the road to Irish Unification. EirGrid, the Irish Republic's state-owned electricity transmission system operator, <a href="http://home.eircom.net/content/unison/biznews/13534354?view=Eircomnet&cat=Business"><span style="color:#33cc00;">bought</span></a> SONI - the company that runs the electricity transmission system for Northern Ireland.<br /><br />The operation (but not ownership) of the North's electricity system will now be effectively the responsibility of an arm of the Irish State. EirGrid falls under the jurisdiction of the Irish Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.<br /><br />The move has been widely welcomed across the board and touted as an important step towards the creation of a Single Electricity Market for the whole of the Island. Eirgrid and it's counterpart in the 6 counties, Northern Ireland Electricity, have also been co-operating to create an integrated North-South interconnector from County Tyrone to County Cavan.<br /><br />While the move should I think be welcomed it also provides a sad contrast to us here in Cymru, where the National Grid grid not only treats North and South Wales as two separate entities, but doesn't even acknowledge a coherent welsh identity at all.<br /><br />In any case, it may come as no surprise to learn that <a href="http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/34415"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Sinn Fein</span></a> have welcomed EirGrid's move. But does Ian Paisley know about it? If he did, he'd probably blow a fuse...<br /></p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-12179888264493922942008-08-22T19:40:00.000-07:002008-08-22T20:06:38.673-07:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>The South Wales valleys: a new Gas Klondike?</strong></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK9YKWub43VmQ9zGjBddkjlHGwwb9wdTIOzRo-hESlIT4CE104-PenzSVF8F2Id9bpg4EnB8uM1tJfFhYA2eGnxY5OXOR0z-LZEvCzvBLxaZtT5xw13G6YjEBy33mlePYJbdWEFQ/s1600-h/13th+Round.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237537641901569250" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK9YKWub43VmQ9zGjBddkjlHGwwb9wdTIOzRo-hESlIT4CE104-PenzSVF8F2Id9bpg4EnB8uM1tJfFhYA2eGnxY5OXOR0z-LZEvCzvBLxaZtT5xw13G6YjEBy33mlePYJbdWEFQ/s400/13th+Round.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify"><br /><br /><br />Amid all the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7533389.stm"><span style="color:#33cc00;">hoo-haa</span></a> over the massive price hikes announced by Centrica and co. this summer, what was less publicised in the media was the fact that companies like Centrica have been quietly <a href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business-in-wales/business-news/2008/07/03/centrica-methane-gas-plans-for-south-wales-91466-21222164"><span style="color:#33cc00;">buying up drilling licenses</span></a> for a massive gas resource that is sitting, quite literally, under our feet. This resource, known as Coal Bed Methane, is deeply intertwined with the history of coal in areas like South Wales, but has never been a large scale commercial prospect. Until now.<br /><br />Coal Bed Methane is basically gas that became "locked" into coal seams as they were laid down millions of years ago. It's tapped by punching into these virgin seams with drilling rigs, and drawing off the released gas. As North Sea gas reserves have begun to decline, and global prices for gas have risen in lock-step with Oil, "niche" prospects like CBM have become increasingly attractive. In the US, for example, it now accounts for around 10% of production. And south Wales, as any ex-miner will tell you, has some of the gassiest coal in Europe.<br /><br />If CBM is going to take off anywhere, it's going to be here.<br /><br />Over the last few months the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has been selling off "licensing blocs" to prospect for this resource, including large areas of south Wales like the Rhondda and Caerffili. The Welsh Assembly has no formal input into this process, and the amount that BERR is raking in for selling these licenses is not a matter for public record. BERR's own figures show that South Wales is sitting on an onshore gas resource of around 13 trillion cubic feet, comparable in quantity to Norway's massive Ormen Lange field, one of the largest gas fields in Western Europe.<br /><br />Unlike South Wales, however, Norway is not a privatised paradise, and the Norwegian State has taken steps to ensure that the benefits of Norways' significant energy resources are felt by all it's citizens. To this end - while the Tories in Britland were busy privatising anything that wasn't bolted down - in 1990 it established the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Petroleum_Fund_of_Norway"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Petroleum Fund of Norway</span></a>. This fund, via the Norwegian Government, is owned by the people of Norway, and it's value now stands at around $300 billion dollars. Profits are used to fund social welfare programmes.<br /><br />Not bad for a small nation of 4.7 million souls...<br /><br />Of course, if Labour in Wales was a genuine Socialist party it would argue that the significant gas resource now being eyed up by the big energy firms should be taken into collective ownership on behalf of the people of Wales. It could either be used to provide cheap, locally available gas to the local population, or sold onto the wider market, and the profits used to provide support and subsidy to poorer sections of our society. Or both.<br /><br />But Labour in Wales is in hock to a government in London that is dogmatically wedded to what Andrew Davies AM likes to refer to as "market-based" solutions. As escalating gas prices hammer low income families even before winter kicks in this year, the big energy companies are preparing to open up a new "gas frontier" across some of the poorest areas of the United Kingdom. Given that the Valleys derived little benefit from the exploitation of it's coal resources the first time round, what reason is there to expect that they will benefit any more this time?<br /><br />If ever an opportunity presented itself to wrongfoot Labour on a socialist issue, in their core constituency, exposing all their talk of "clear red water" as little more than empty rhetoric, this is it. </div><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">At the end of the day, if a small independent nation like Norway can utilise it's significant energy resources for the benefit of it's people, why can't we?</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-34215697337877915392008-08-09T05:15:00.000-07:002008-08-09T05:58:57.059-07:00<strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Friend or FoE?</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm73JXeWj23RYheh1bnFXiHBSolNKs_Ilcj9vzhym5FMSsYWFJuyK-tc7lEue7dj0Ur6pb11c3T7HbYGQEe9GuZhYYzW9kcVTY071aWnN2hyVeTF5wfdg-3ylD-zQNSktRtYhzmQ/s1600-h/_40628182_wind5_300.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232490724572016962" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm73JXeWj23RYheh1bnFXiHBSolNKs_Ilcj9vzhym5FMSsYWFJuyK-tc7lEue7dj0Ur6pb11c3T7HbYGQEe9GuZhYYzW9kcVTY071aWnN2hyVeTF5wfdg-3ylD-zQNSktRtYhzmQ/s400/_40628182_wind5_300.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />A <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/7549320.stm"><span style="color:#33ff33;">BBC news item</span></a> on Friday casts a revealing light on the extent to which the so-called "Green" movement has drifted from its roots. Powys county council, besieged by multiple applications for wind farms, has put it's foot down and decided to put the whole thing on hold. It's main objection revolves around road access to some of the wildest and most remote sites in Wales. Councillor Wynne Jones, the Cabinet member for Regeneration and Development said;<br /><br />"Unless there are major improvements to the roads where the construction traffic would have to travel, then we would have no choice but to recommend refusal of these developments."<br /><br />In response, Friends of the Earth have called for Assembly ministers to ""intervene and to discuss with them how we can overcome this as soon as possible".<br /><br />But wouldn't FoE do the Welsh environment a better service by questioning the thinking behind the whole crazy scheme in the first place? Whatever happened to the slogan "Small is Beautiful" that inspired groups like FoE in the first place?<br /><br />After all, in the 1970s, in the early days of the green movement, thinkers like E F Schumacher questioned the entire rationale behind large scale "mega projects" and decried the tendency towards "bigness" in modern thinking. Schumacher, a pioneer who cared passionately about people as much as the environment, coined a term which has clearly been forgotten by groups like FoE. "Appropriate technology" - small-scale, decentralised projects which were relevant to the needs of the communities they served, "as if people mattered".<br /><br />Can anyone say that about these projects?<br /><br />Everything about them is top-down, driven by little more than an abstract, bureaucratic target which is effectively part of little more than a marketing exercise by the Welsh Assembly.<br />Meanwhile, in it's zeal to impose these targets on local authorities, it seems the Assembly has grossly underestimated the cumulative impact of a series of projects, which, taken together, will transform the landscape of mid-Wales forever.<br /><br />Isn't it always the way with such top-heavy exercises?<br /><br />Wind technology started in Wales around 30 years ago as little more than a number of small, innovative projects pioneered by ventures like the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth. They were grassroots, local projects, which generally attracted little opposition. As the corporate world has taken an increasing interest in wind technology, however, the tendency has been for the size of the turbines to grow, and the numbers to multiply. It's no surprise, therefore, that local opposition has tended to multiply in direct proportion, as their impact on the landscape has become ever more intrusive.<br /><br />So are Friends of the Earth now going to call on the Assembly to build bigger roads to make this ever expanding project happen? And could they do such a thing with a straight face?<br /><br />The mind boggles. But one thing's for sure - If E F Schumacher was alive to see the slick, corporate monster the movement he inspired has mutated into, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be turning in his grave, he'd be spinning.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-89589382374363364412008-07-07T15:28:00.000-07:002008-07-07T15:44:05.968-07:00<strong><span style="font-size:130%;">It's Deja Vu all over again...</span></strong><br /><br /><object width="425" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aeZivwy2Pg4&hl=en&fs=1&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aeZivwy2Pg4&hl=en&fs=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="349"></embed></object><br /><br />It's all here. LNG terminals, a high pressure gas pipeline shipping gas to a wealthier neighbour, eminent domain (compulsory purchase in this country), protected areas at risk, peoples safety compromised, communities united in opposition.<br /><br />South Wales? Nope. Oregon, USA. But the parallels are uncanny nonetheless.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-57745905199023952292008-07-03T16:56:00.000-07:002008-07-03T17:33:38.190-07:00<strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Where were you Ms. Wood?</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyDeiWA4MX50Jxj_Y9jR6Xxnmpfcbb01xagRRRWOj1JV-frCNUOpdSnAPAJ_zHWqmV31-rooepqGbGBGD0artZjZftkeuXk1t0m__YdeM8VxugY2dcIgPDzkRYEJAIYYUdm42syQ/s1600-h/Leanne+Wood+pic.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218941362251815986" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyDeiWA4MX50Jxj_Y9jR6Xxnmpfcbb01xagRRRWOj1JV-frCNUOpdSnAPAJ_zHWqmV31-rooepqGbGBGD0artZjZftkeuXk1t0m__YdeM8VxugY2dcIgPDzkRYEJAIYYUdm42syQ/s400/Leanne+Wood+pic.jpg" border="0" /></a> Leanne Wood puts a strong and forthright case on her blog for a controversial subject - <a href="http://www.leannewoodamac.blogspot.com/"><span style="color:#33cc00;">wind</span></a>. In principle, I agree with much of what she says, but as with many things in politics, there's a catch. You just have to spot it. I have a lot of respect for Ms Wood as one of the more principled AMs in the Assembly, but on this subject I think she may be a little naive. <div align="justify"><br />Ms Wood's claim that "doing nothing and waiting for London to form our energy policy for us is a dereliction of duty" is a noble sentiment, but ignores the reality of our situation. It's too late - London has already decided on Welsh energy policy, and the core of that policy is based not on renewables, but on gas. </div><div align="justify"><br />The time to take a strong stand over the issue of climate change was when the LNG Terminals and pipeline were planned and under construction. </div><div align="justify"><br />But where were you Ms Wood?</div><div align="justify"><br />It needs to be understood that the Terminals and pipeline are essentially the platform for a massive ramp-up in fossil fuel generation across Wales between now and 2020. Most of this generation will be gas. A fact that the previous Labour administration is well aware of, and has actively worked to facilitate. In this respect, Labour is continuing the "Dash for Gas", initiated by Thatcher in the late 1980s.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />It's a Thatcherite, or as Andrew Davies AM likes to call it, "Market-based" energy policy. </div><div align="justify"><br />As a result of this ramp-up, in absolute terms renewables will form a declining, not growing share of this mix. Knowing this, Labour have cynically set the Assembly's renewables target in Terrawatt Hours, rather than as a simple percentage of the overall energy mix (i.e. 10%). They know full well that if their target was a percentage figure, it will not be met. </div><div align="justify"><br />Just one of the new gas-fired stations earmarked for the Milford Haven area - Pembroke 1 - will be the biggest power station built in the UK since Drax in the mid 1980s. It will be supplied with regassified LNG. <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/6381911.stm"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Friends of the Earth</span></a> have already - rightly - pointed out that these installations will waste an amount of heat equating to half the entire energy usage of Wales, and turn Pembrokeshire into our "Climate Change capital".</div><div align="justify"><br />These stations will also lead to a massive jump in Wales' electricity production, despite the fact that we are already a net exporter. As a consequence, ANY new generation - renewable or fossil fuel - will not be needed in Wales. At a time when families are already struggling under the cosh of ever-rising fuel bills, the costs of any new infrastructure will be passed by utilities onto the consumer, and that includes the Welsh consumer. </div><div align="justify"><br />The sad fact is that the Labour Assembly has sat back and allowed the UK government to lock Wales into a structural dependence on a resource, the price of which is now escalating rapidly. As a Socialist, this is something that Ms Wood might want to consider when gas prices rise again by <a href="http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article4160856.ece"><span style="color:#33cc00;">40%</span></a> in August, delivering yet another hammer blow to low income earners in her own constituency and across the rest of Wales. </div><div align="justify"><br />By not openly challenging the UK government's policy, Leanne's Labour partners have effectively skewed the whole energy equation in Wales. Despite the fact that no less an authority than Jonathan Stern pointed out in his report that Gas Transmission alone is one of the most carbon intensive sectors of the economy. A report commissioned, of course, by our current PM, Gordon Brown. </div><div align="justify"><br />As a Republican committed to Welsh independence Ms Wood also needs to consider the implications of any new transmission infrastructure - pipelines or powerlines - which will only serve to bind us ever more tightly to the over-centralised energy system of the British State. </div><div align="justify"><br />Admitting that the Assembly's renewables strategy is fundamentally flawed need not be an admission of failure in the face of climate change. But the public - many of whom are affected by these projects - have a right to know that the Assembly is fighting the good fight with one arm tied behind it's back. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />Because without the power to stop the UK government imposing large gas stations like Pembroke 1 on us, the Assembly's renewables strategy as currently constituted is little more than spin. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-13447096745115538712008-06-26T15:19:00.000-07:002008-06-26T16:28:06.219-07:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>The Strawman Project</strong></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRVcPJWnxq2J7dm20DJ_K_h7hGBmdw6E2-1Hk-JNm7C24tr7RQ55CXo6jMyfZp_w7YO0LC7-q0J_68RbaoTdfC6lqjQSkTR5Ie8_07GKz1OTyOfooDKRTYmCrQQLuxFWXvhEF5A/s1600-h/Route+Map.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216326700939913506" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRVcPJWnxq2J7dm20DJ_K_h7hGBmdw6E2-1Hk-JNm7C24tr7RQ55CXo6jMyfZp_w7YO0LC7-q0J_68RbaoTdfC6lqjQSkTR5Ie8_07GKz1OTyOfooDKRTYmCrQQLuxFWXvhEF5A/s400/Route+Map.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Gordon Brown announced a <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7474592.stm"><span style="color:#33cc00;">massive expansion in wind power</span></a> today as part of an overall drive to switch the UK over to renewable generation.<br /><br />Claiming that it would not be "business as usual" and pointing out that "The North Sea has now passed its peak of oil and gas supply", the PM called for a "National Debate" on reaching a target of 15% of UK electricity from renewable sources by 2020.<br /><br />Brown said "Increasing our renewable energy sources in these ways, on this scale, will require a national purpose and a shared national endeavour".<br /><br />So let's take a closer look at exactly what this "shared national endeavour" involves...<br /><br />In Wales, our contribution to this grand plan was unveiled back in February by "Methane Jane" Davidson, our Minister for Sustainability. This <a href="http://new.wales.gov.uk/consultations/closed/envandcouncloscons/renewenergymap/?lang=en"><span style="color:#33cc00;">"Renewable Energy Routemap</span></a> underlines the Assembly's commitment to meeting it's target of 4 Twh of renewable energy generation by 2010, and 7Twh by 2020.<br /><br />Wind forms a key part of this commitment, and the Assembly's wind energy policy is enshrined in the controversial TAN 8 document, which allocates the siting of large-scale wind farm development in Strategic Search Areas (SSAs). In Mid-Wales there are 3 such areas, known as Carno North (B), Newtown South (C), and Nant y Moch (D).<br /><br />Together these areas account for up to 500 Megawatts of new generation. But there is a problem, and that problem is the grid. Developers are hungrily eyeing up the area, but without the ability to export this massive amount of electricity into the grid, it's just not worth the risk.<br /><br />Not to worry though, because National Grid have the answer, and Jane Davidson, in her capacity as National Grid's mouthpiece, spells it out in her Routemap. A "new 400kv grid link into England."<br /><br />Substitute "Powerline" for "Pipeline", and you'll see where this is going...<br /><br />A National Grid document, accessible <a href="http://www.nationalgrid.com/NR/rdonlyres/17667FB3-7686-4803-8488-EE0663899FF6/17994/MidWalesUserWorkshop.pdf"><span style="color:#33cc00;">here</span></a>, outlines exactly what this "link" means. A 55km overhead line from their Legacy substation - just outside Wrecsam - to the Cambrian Mountains.<br /><br />The map above outlines a possible route (in green), given the concentration of proposed farms here.<br /><br />National Grid made "Connection Offers" to developers using what they call the "Strawman Co-ordinated application Window" on October 31st, 2007. By pure coincidence, this is a mere 6 days after Rhodri Morgan <a href="http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2007/10/26/forest-land-to-be-used-for-wind-farms-55578-20010373/"><span style="color:#33cc00;">announced</span></a> "a new era" for wind farms - built on Forestry Commission Land.<br /><br />Now I'm all for wind, but given that Wales is already a net exporter of electricity, where is the need for this kind of project? As far as I know, 13 separate projects so far have been signed up for connection to this line. But given that this line is designed to facilitate a massive expansion of wind in this region, you can guarantee it won't stop there.<br /><br />A landscape that already bears the scars of an earlier period of exploitation - for our water - has now been earmarked for exploitation of another key Welsh resource - our wind.<br /><br />Is this what our Assembly was set up for?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-89488910447796297832008-06-16T17:11:00.000-07:002008-06-16T17:31:19.979-07:00<strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Power to the People</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbEiFYjtvlp9fqFk2sLOw1QTADSdKWTr1oJJGhSa3KHfHskOeeCGdjDK-dW0erIMpwDFVo5hTMlDsHwBEQO3k4-qD1nhsRfGVVYd2BiLfbXqwBxCV8t61Jzs1v0f_ssoS9HAgAyg/s1600-h/Clenched+Fist.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212636689469448626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbEiFYjtvlp9fqFk2sLOw1QTADSdKWTr1oJJGhSa3KHfHskOeeCGdjDK-dW0erIMpwDFVo5hTMlDsHwBEQO3k4-qD1nhsRfGVVYd2BiLfbXqwBxCV8t61Jzs1v0f_ssoS9HAgAyg/s400/Clenched+Fist.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />All credit to Dr. Dai Lloyd on his strong stance over devolution of energy consents for large (over 50 MW ) power stations. His Freedom of Information request for information regarding the exact nature of negotiations between London and Cardiff is a welcome attempt to bring transparency into the process.<br /><br />On the other hand, the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform's contemptuous response shows that little has changed really since Tryweryn in the 1960s. It's just incredible, really, that an elected AM has to undertake such a measure to extract information from civil servants answerable to his own peers in the One Wales Government.<br /><br />So why the secrecy?<br /><br />Negotiations between the Assembly and BERR (formerly the DTI) have been underway since 2003. On the face of it, they were prompted by proposals for the massive Cefn Croes wind-power project near Aberystwyth. These negotiations prompted an earlier FoI request by Nick Bourne AM back in 2005, similarly stonewalled by Assembly officials on the grounds that the would "prejudice relations between administrations in the United Kingdom."<br /><br />Of course, Cefn Croes is now up and running. It's amazing what stalling for time can do. A classic tactic employed by the Sir Humphreys of this world...<br /><br />Negotiations have been ongoing for at least 5 years and have gone nowhere. In that intervening timescale a number of new power projects have materialised, including the world's biggest LNG terminal and connecting pipeline, a new gas-fired power station at Uskmouth, and approval last year for the world's biggest Biomass plant - the Prenergy plant in Port Talbot. Many of these projects are effectively geared for export to England.<br /><br />Many have been unsuccessfully challenged locally and in the courts, even while in the past year alone, no less than 4 major energy projects have been thrown out in England, including a key installation along the pipeline itself.<br /><br />So what's the answer? It seems that while devolution has given us a measure of democratic accountability here in Wales, it has also allowed the UK government to "outsource" energy projects that have been rejected by our good neighbours in England. And while our civil service here in Cardiff pleads impotence, it's been quite happily working behind the scenes to push through many of these projects, including routing pipelines and siting wind turbines over Assembly controlled land, sidestepping the concerns of affected communities.<br /><br />Who are they accountable to - the Assembly or London? It's quite clear that the current devolutionary setup - at least in energy terms - is unsustainable. But if BERR refuses to devolve these powers, what are we to do? We need accountability, and at present we do not have it.<br /><br />The only answer is a full Welsh Parliament, and to get that we need a referendum. The Assembly was created by a broad-based popular campaign, and a similar campaign needs to be initiated, sooner rather than later, in order to create unstoppable momentum behind the need for a full Parliament. With so many energy projects now underway across Wales, the argument for more powers needs to be put across to affected communities and residents.<br /><br />For people who live in the shadow of these developments, these arguments should have powerful resonance. If we do not make them, we run the risk that these developments will turn people against more powers, as the ambiguity of the current setup may alienate people against an Assembly they see as "useless" and "powerless".<br /><br />With the world in the midst of a full-blown oil crisis, energy is becoming a matter of political survival, and for a British Establishment wrestling with a rapidly growing energy gap, you can bet that means that Wales will come off second best. If we don't fight our corner - no one else is going to.<br /><br />The longer we wait for a proper Parliament, the more large power projects will be imposed on us, more of our protected landscapes will be ripped up, and the health and safety of more of our communities will be sacrificed to meet England's electricity needs. As it stands, Wales is rapidly becoming an "energy colony", and our Assembly the rubberstamp.<br /><br />We need a full Parliament with law-making powers, and we need to start campaigning for one now.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-15149553799492279522008-05-22T17:54:00.000-07:002008-05-22T18:19:49.499-07:00<div align="justify"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Pushing Tin</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhka5Rio_1-0TjQgiH9Zbg_6QXcpjXvoOSb9YCi-8jQBlrNNA8eqMviAEAYU21gCrZLf0H4JEuMphqS73cdNTXCD64fUtxUFjGDP_80ZumRgK4_FHSEDvzn-c7uU2WDHrkj-Stkw/s1600-h/Thatcher.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203371046741827346" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhka5Rio_1-0TjQgiH9Zbg_6QXcpjXvoOSb9YCi-8jQBlrNNA8eqMviAEAYU21gCrZLf0H4JEuMphqS73cdNTXCD64fUtxUFjGDP_80ZumRgK4_FHSEDvzn-c7uU2WDHrkj-Stkw/s400/Thatcher.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Amid all the ideological spleen flying about over the unveiling of a <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7411199.stm"><span style="color:#33ff33;">tinplate</span></a> image of Maggie Thatcher in the Senedd, it pays to take a closer look at the legacy that Thatcher has bequeathed on us here in Wales, particularly in terms of government policy.<br /><br />Traditionally associated with privatisation, deregulation and the wholesale dismantling of the welfare state, Thatcherism is seen by many in Wales as something that was "imposed" on us by zealous conservative ideologues in the 1980s and much of the 1990s. But behind the rhetorical posturing of the respective political parties, things are not quite so clear-cut.<br /><br />Welsh Labour, in particular, perhaps dimly aware that more than a little of Thatcher's zeal for privatisation had rubbed off onto Tony Blair and his cronies, were eager to put "clear red water" between themselves and their counterparts up the other end of the M4.<br /><br />Behind this rhetoric, however, it's quite clear that for the past 5 years the Assembly government and it's London handlers has been <a href="http://wales.gov.uk/news/archivepress/enterprisepress/einpress2004/706820/?lang=en"><span style="color:#33ff33;">quietly supporting</span></a> a thoroughly Thatcherite experiment in energy deregulation.<br /><br />This process of deregulation began in the 1980s with the privatisation of state utilities such as British Gas (1986) and the break-up of the Central Electricity Generation Board (CEGB) at the end of the decade. From the ashes of this breakup rose privatised utilities such as the National Grid and National Power. The Tories fervently believed that this deregulation would lead to greater efficiency, lower prices and greater freedom of choice for the consumer.<br /><br />This ideology has largely been inherited by the Labour Party, and this shift began with the binning of Labour's historical commitment to Nationalisation - Clause IV. Over the course of the 1990s, Labour's 1992 election manifesto commitment to <a href="http://www.labour-party.org.uk/manifestos/1992/1992-labour-manifesto.shtml"><br /><span style="color:#33ff33;">renationalising</span></a> National Grid was quietly dropped.<br /><br />Another key Labour commitment quickly dropped when Labour got into power was a moratorium on the building of gas-fired power stations. Labour was concerned to be seen to be reversing the Tories "Dash for Gas" in the early 1990s. By the end of 1998 this ban was watered down due to the intervention of a key player in the energy industry in the late 1990s - Enron, who splashed out<span style="color:#33ff33;"> </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca"><span style="color:#33ff33;">£15,000</span></a> on a reception at Labour's '98 conference that year.<br /><br />But Labour's love affair with gas was just warming up. Companies like Enron soon found many bedfellows in "New" Labour, willing to cwtsch up. Not least of whom was the Rt. Hon. Peter Hain. M.P.<br /><br />And Peter really meant it. In his capacity as <a href="http://www.berr.gov.uk/ministers/archived/hain200301.html"><span style="color:#33ff33;">Minister for Energy and Competitiveness in Europe,</span></a> Hain was given a key job. To help crack open recalcitrant European energy markets and spread the gospel of liberalisation and "competitive markets" across the continent. And a key plank in Labour's strategy of cracking the European nut was LNG.<br /><br />LNG which would help to lesson Europe's dependence on the resurgent Russian bear.<br /><br />But it wasn't all roses for Peter. He got his share of the bread, too. In 2007 he got a nice bung from the <a href="http://www.order-order.com/2008/01/another-10000-hain-donor-got.html"><span style="color:#33ff33;">Cuddy Group</span></a>, one of the many contractors employed on the construction of a pipeline which doesn't run too far from his house. </div><div align="justify"> </div> <br /><div align="justify">A pipeline which thanks to Labour's deregulation agenda is missing a significant number of safety valves, and hasn't been properly assessed by the Health and Safety Executive.<br /><br />So not too close, either. Eh, Pete? </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-78090783465471577042008-05-08T05:25:00.000-07:002008-05-08T05:55:12.694-07:00<strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Greenwash!</span></strong><br /><br />The establishment continues to trip over itself in it's <a href="http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/05/08/lng-pipeline-project-wins-sustainable-transport-award-91466-20877165/"><span style="color:#33ff33;">desperation</span></a> to paint the LNG pipeline project as being of some benefit to the rest of us.<br /><br />So after ripping up half the Welsh countryside, damaging an internationally recognized Geopark, polluting an SAC in Milford Haven waterway, and, oh, by the way, locking us into a mode of energy generation that is destabilising our climate, it was almost inevitable that National Grid's pet project would receive some kind of green award.<br /><br />Presenting this award, the Chair of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, Martin Evans, gushed; "To me, the important part was the installation of the pipeline so that none of the LNG that’s being imported had to be transported by road."<br /><br />I mean, the fact that the Stern report points out that gas transmission is one of the most carbon intensive sectors of the economy, and the fact that the gas has to be be liquified and transported halfway across the world in giant ships is really just nitpicking isn't it?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-33243454564200636192008-04-29T08:36:00.000-07:002008-04-29T09:32:54.525-07:00<strong><span style="font-size:130%;">"Having the capacity does not mean the molecules are going to arrive."</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44v1ct5lv-8hCWsmwTUEIIZDsyRqYvMJCeaW1wmdbr9geYSRNOQlANWWT7oejj8RovEIPNnoDFGcQYzgPPOsGSnHuneRkfjjJuIZY_7XuX0LcwfbaE_T1A9hc9qjvqWoiwyiQgA/s1600-h/LNG_ht3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194692425080685586" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44v1ct5lv-8hCWsmwTUEIIZDsyRqYvMJCeaW1wmdbr9geYSRNOQlANWWT7oejj8RovEIPNnoDFGcQYzgPPOsGSnHuneRkfjjJuIZY_7XuX0LcwfbaE_T1A9hc9qjvqWoiwyiQgA/s400/LNG_ht3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />You heard it here first. After telling us for the last three years that the Terminals and pipeline were going to supply up to 20% of the UK's gas requrements, now they're telling us that most of the gas is headed for <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/apr/28/oil.energy">Japan and South Korea.</a><br /><br />Three years of pressuring planning authorities with "National Need" arguments, three years of bullying land owners, three years of ripping up the Welsh countryside and causing long-term damage to some of our most precious and ecologically important landscapes.<br /><br />What a load of bollocks.<br /><br />Of course, National Grid have been aware of the phenomenon known as "Spot LNG" for some time. After all, it's been happening at their Isle of Grain terminal since 2005 and points to the escalating failure of what European commentators refer to as "Anglo Capitalism". A neoliberal model which is gradually locking us into a growing dependency on gas supplies that are now being traded on a worldwide market, courtesy of LNG.<br /><br />In light of this you've got to laugh at the statement from Centrica blaming "dysfuntional European markets sitting next to our highly competitive British one". If we're so competitive - how come the Japs and South Koreans are out-competing us?<br /><br />The only way we're going to be able to compete with the far east is by offering a higher rate for the gas - and that inevitably means higher bills down the line for the consumer.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-10880652578650735112008-03-09T17:04:00.000-07:002008-03-09T17:35:36.959-07:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Has Carwyn Bottled It?</strong></span><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></strong><br />I'm gutted. I was really looking forward to taking part in Thursday's "Pawb a'i Farn" programme on S4C. Of the two AMs pipped to appear, one of them was Carwyn Jones, former Minister for the Environment in the Assembly, and now Counsel General. In his previous administrative incarnation, I and many others addressed a letter to his department to "Call In" the LNG importation project.<br /><br />Many of us, myself included, never recieved a reply.<br /><br />The Assembly have a statutory duty to respond to letters from the public within 17 working days. After submitting a letter - publicly, with dozens of other people, at a demo outside the Assembly - I recieved a holding response 3 months later, in August.<br /><br />And that was it.<br /><br />Luckily for me, however, I am a Welsh speaker, and an invitation to participate in a special electoral edition of Y Byd Ar Bedwar before last years' Assembly elections gave me an opportunity to raise the issue again. Carwyn was one of the participating AMs, and after tussling briefly over the LNG issue, he promised to look into the mysterious issue of the disappearing letters.<br /><br />Of course, what I didn't take into acount (and Carwyn probably did) was the fact that it was 1 month before an election, and Mr. Jones would probably be shifted to a new department. So I'm still waiting for a reply. I've been waiting for around 2 years now...<br /><br />So here we are. I've got a place in Thursday's audience, I'm all revved up and rearing to go...I still want to know about my letter, and whether Carwyn deserves his 8.3% pay rise, backdated to the point last May when I last asked about the letter, and he promised to look into it.<br /><br />And then I get a call from the Beeb to confirm my place in the audience, and by the way, Carwyn's dropped out, to be replaced by Dai Lloyd, who has taken a much more assertive and principled stand over the LNG project, and along with 5 other Plaid AMs has refused to accept the 8.3% pay rise.<br /><br />For this reason I get the feeling Dai will have an easier time of it on Thursday, or maybe it's just that he's got a hell of lot more backbone than his Labour counterpart...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-77646947312151463692008-02-19T07:20:00.000-08:002008-02-19T07:56:57.523-08:00<strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Methane Jane - Spinning Again...</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn7cw_sZt3GH77ALGk41jN0aSbzHGtV4yV4s5xctgz3hXrvNfoWNKx8G5VdOfztGsJhObeB1J-oo-JB8I2dKdnelRNCZOs9-O37gewrIBB9UFTcjqHYmESRbB4ujiaBJZvDxgOug/s1600-h/E112_wind_turbine.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168711831746434178" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn7cw_sZt3GH77ALGk41jN0aSbzHGtV4yV4s5xctgz3hXrvNfoWNKx8G5VdOfztGsJhObeB1J-oo-JB8I2dKdnelRNCZOs9-O37gewrIBB9UFTcjqHYmESRbB4ujiaBJZvDxgOug/s400/E112_wind_turbine.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>"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. </p><p>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. </p><p>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. </p><p>But it's a start. </p><p>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. </p><p>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. </p><p>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? </p><p>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.</p><p>Given the carbon-intensive nature of these industries, it will be interesting to see how the Assembly fiddles the figures for Wales' carbon emissions...</p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-7864120897262474002008-02-06T06:32:00.001-08:002008-02-06T06:56:44.695-08:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>An Open Letter to Malcolm Wicks - UK Minister for Energy.</strong></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCMjAIH7GRbEP0zNkK1iiMfZT5lZCyr5lzAfPV_K3L_wUv4ixsoyrPquW_I33RVf0LjN4OWNqm7Bv9HJtFffg_xhLjJU9r-clyXjqpw5Xd899SLt949qYNn-zu-ThogYeox7dl8g/s1600-h/PICT0067.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163876202676813458" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCMjAIH7GRbEP0zNkK1iiMfZT5lZCyr5lzAfPV_K3L_wUv4ixsoyrPquW_I33RVf0LjN4OWNqm7Bv9HJtFffg_xhLjJU9r-clyXjqpw5Xd899SLt949qYNn-zu-ThogYeox7dl8g/s400/PICT0067.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Photo taken at the Compressor site (Late December, 2007)</span><br /><br /><strong>A letter from a concerned Swansea resident now sits on the desk of the UK Energy Minister...</strong><br /><br />Dear Mr. Wicks,<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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?<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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?<br /><br />And if you would not, why not?<br /><br />Given the gravity of this situation, I await your reply with some urgency.<br /><br />Yours Sincerely,<br /><br /><br />Jim Dunckley.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-38801122852956707342008-01-26T18:17:00.000-08:002008-01-26T19:31:08.445-08:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Just Blame it on the Weatherman...</strong></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQ-MXWaBb4ITKTOjmK6rCcyswJyCpiegFFf3zBraUCKCYIa5g2nPTdPs9D8JOdzreQBYfrs_ysoVqf0P3ieppqR1s6gleZzY8IyAvRMLm6oXS9t15EUNFMnrpjukWpTA6Fhvqcw/s1600-h/_44381449_swanseadefynnogroad.203.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5159992310995680834" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQ-MXWaBb4ITKTOjmK6rCcyswJyCpiegFFf3zBraUCKCYIa5g2nPTdPs9D8JOdzreQBYfrs_ysoVqf0P3ieppqR1s6gleZzY8IyAvRMLm6oXS9t15EUNFMnrpjukWpTA6Fhvqcw/s400/_44381449_swanseadefynnogroad.203.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div></div><div><br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div>News coming out of the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/7208550.stm"><span style="color:#33ff33;">Brecon Beacons</span></a> about the damage caused to key protected areas in the Park will come as no surprise to those of us elsewhere along the pipeline route already well acquainted with National Grid's desperate rush to "complete" the pipeline at all costs.<br /><br />Nor will it surprise people in parts of Scotland either.<br /><br />In<span style="color:#33ff33;"> </span><a href="http://www.sepa.org.uk/news/releases/2003/pr031.html"><span style="color:#33ff33;">2003</span></a>, Transco's contractor Nacap Lawrence was fined £30,000 by SEPA - the Scottish Environment Agency - for silt pollution caused in the River Ythan in North-East Scotland during another pipeline project to connect a gas terminal at Aberdeen.<br /><br />Seems like Nacap have acquired a very bad habit of doing this kind of thing...<br /><br />Indeed, in Brecon the problem has become so bad that large areas of topsoil along the pipeline route are quite literally washing away into important rivers like the<span style="color:#33ff33;"> </span><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_7210000/newsid_7210600?redirect=7210631.stm&news=1&bbwm=1&bbram=1&nbram=1&nbwm=1"><span style="color:#33ff33;">Towy, Crai and Usk</span></a> - some of which are protected under the EU Habitats Directive.<br /><br />The Park's fundamental concern has always revolved around the fact that the construction timetable for the pipeline was far too tight, and the routing flawed, and that this would ultimately compromise both aftercare and safety in large areas of the Park. And as it turns out, the Park Authority was right.<br /><br />National Grid, meanwhile, have taken to blaming the crap weather for this huge cock-up. But they <em>were</em> warned...<br /><br />Back in 2005, when the Grid sensitively decided to route their huge pipe through a newly designated Geopark, concerns were raised by various bodies about the viability of routing a pipeline of this size through a sensitive landscape riddled with fragile habitats, steep slopes and unstable landslips.<br /><br />This little nugget from the HSE in particular makes clear that dodgy weather was a pressing concern for them too;-<br /><br /><strong>Health and Safety Executive Hazardous Installations Directorate</strong><br /><br /><em>"Pipeline Integrity<br /><br />Route 12 would involve substantial hill sections to negotiate, and we agree with the description of the difficulties in constructing and testing a pipeline over sloping / rising ground. We would be somewhat concerned that a pipeline laid in sloping ground in one of the wettest areas of the country could be at risk of failure during operation, as a result of ground movement. The UKOPA Pipeline Loss Database (1962 -2004) reports a total of 172 product loss incidents. Of these, five were caused by ground movement withone of these (an 18-inch diameter pipeline) failing as a full-bore rupture with ignition of gas. This is a significant failure given that only nine of the 172 product loss incidents resulted in ignition."</em><br /><br />Route 12 was discarded, but given that route 13 (the route chosen) is fundamentally a very similar route, that may not make a lot of difference.<br /><br />National Grid have buggered up, and they know it. Not only have they routed the pipeline through a sensitive landscape which has been irreperably damaged, but they have also routed the pipeline through a landscape which is so unstable that it poses an ever-present risk to the integrity of the pipe itself.<br /><br />Maybe this dim realisation that the routing of the pipeline is fundamentally flawed prompted Project Manager David Mercer to tell Welsh Assembly members at a meeting recently that it was actually Exxon that decided the ultimate route in any case - by deciding to site the Terminals in Milford Haven....<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-35709667772465905032007-12-27T11:34:00.000-08:002007-12-27T12:19:27.457-08:00<div align="justify"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">All gassed up, and nowhere to go...</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE47Cz8j8bFcgvJJbn9pp23dT2R5U-jdHSvyvNNfSB9OkD2zcwJmnoBRlcOBEzX6I5t4tJuFpYnsr9bJhuxAZz_i5N4LAUGCaZihKzGgDTtdslOSrXrNvJqBJ9DxOZ9W-JL1AUlw/s1600-h/Corse+site.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148738622523938354" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="160" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE47Cz8j8bFcgvJJbn9pp23dT2R5U-jdHSvyvNNfSB9OkD2zcwJmnoBRlcOBEzX6I5t4tJuFpYnsr9bJhuxAZz_i5N4LAUGCaZihKzGgDTtdslOSrXrNvJqBJ9DxOZ9W-JL1AUlw/s400/Corse+site.jpg" width="209" border="0" /></a> 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.<br /><br />The UK government decided to <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7155587.stm"><span style="color:#33ff33;">throw out</span> </a>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Perceptive readers with their critical faculties intact may ask a key question at this point: haven't the BBC been reporting <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/7114479.stm"><span style="color:#33ff33;">the Grid's line</span></a> that this pipeline project is complete?<br /><br />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.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-31822616374133974982007-12-27T10:01:00.000-08:002007-12-27T11:06:51.365-08:00<strong><span style="font-size:180%;">“It is important that we shine light into this darkness.”</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4k4Pz34ldD7zV0xkiOZIZBatnBhP4zt8fqU33bIxjR_yBqg3NOrzDDi6dBj0uu3klYSxPMy0czGAMaWYAN3cWawuf7QxEUUnajUhyphenhyphen8B7FDf75sN-L7lQbcrFSheJBqzzAj5ALjg/s1600-h/EU+logo.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148717349550921234" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 180px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 116px" height="130" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4k4Pz34ldD7zV0xkiOZIZBatnBhP4zt8fqU33bIxjR_yBqg3NOrzDDi6dBj0uu3klYSxPMy0czGAMaWYAN3cWawuf7QxEUUnajUhyphenhyphen8B7FDf75sN-L7lQbcrFSheJBqzzAj5ALjg/s400/EU+logo.jpg" width="180" border="0" /></a> 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 <a href="http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/wales-news/2007/12/21/eu-probe-into-lng-pipeline-91466-20275883/"><span style="color:#33ff33;">further investigation</span></a>.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />A debate that has certainly never taken place on UK soil.<br /><br />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.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-74220978271901315582007-12-10T16:41:00.000-08:002007-12-10T16:48:24.713-08:00<span style="font-size:180%;">Brussels to hear anti-LNG petition.</span><br /><br />After a brief wait, campaigners against the LNG pipeline and Terminals have confirmation that they will be called to testify to the <a href="http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/wales-news/2007/12/10/brussels-to-hear-anti-lng-petition-91466-20227609/">European Committee on Petitions</a> on December 20th.<br /><br />If persuaded, they may recommend that the European Commission open an investigation into the project. We shall see.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-51132836340919826232007-12-06T04:44:00.000-08:002007-12-06T06:06:59.397-08:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>What England Doesn't Want, Wales Gets.</strong></span><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRy7-yeV3Ud4S5fQpADJ8KxY2BdQv-xsLH1xAukhpgbAPlWRi1ugy3nHO8tCNMUOjtsZOpvAZx0l0vkPkyGijoXbX9GuzkH8J721bpzVv9jWXVIQqDQSVyYfPe74QiLUHqc1JfA/s1600-h/map-wales.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140840450705880018" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 484px" height="148" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRy7-yeV3Ud4S5fQpADJ8KxY2BdQv-xsLH1xAukhpgbAPlWRi1ugy3nHO8tCNMUOjtsZOpvAZx0l0vkPkyGijoXbX9GuzkH8J721bpzVv9jWXVIQqDQSVyYfPe74QiLUHqc1JfA/s400/map-wales.gif" width="241" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>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.</p><p>For people who have to live in the shadow of them for the rest of their lives, it can be a living hell. </p><p>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. </p><p>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<a href="http://www.castlepoint.gov.uk/NewsM.asp?id=SX9452-A7809928"> withdrawing from the scheme</a>, effectively killing the project. </p><p>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. </p><p>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...<br /><br />Amlwch, however, is already a much bigger project, by Canatxx' own admission;<br /><br />"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."<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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?</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-2377270358565423142007-12-05T16:20:00.000-08:002007-12-06T04:39:06.434-08:00<strong><span style="font-size:180%;">A North Wales Pipeline?</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-gNpsGO6pY6-ExIGn0CHzUxoA-NSBzflcfQuTAuRkAYDRt5h7L9kO1K5xXHnx9qbRJlfNaGuMV8n3MVLZQ_jONz5AtiFzqGj_D79Ykqin6YQPVnzbLebrXHVFPWOFqHZr_wRm9Q/s1600-h/Pipe+spread.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5140648615991604146" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-gNpsGO6pY6-ExIGn0CHzUxoA-NSBzflcfQuTAuRkAYDRt5h7L9kO1K5xXHnx9qbRJlfNaGuMV8n3MVLZQ_jONz5AtiFzqGj_D79Ykqin6YQPVnzbLebrXHVFPWOFqHZr_wRm9Q/s400/Pipe+spread.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify">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 <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/7129464.stm"><span style="color:#33ff33;">approved</span></a> American multinational Canatxx's application to build a giant LNG terminal just offshore of the tiny town.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">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. </div><br /><div align="justify">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.<br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />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.<br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />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.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">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.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">There will be no Welsh representation on it.<br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />Some Plaid AMs are already <a href="http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/wales-news/2007/12/03/energy-quango-worse-than-tryweryn-91466-20194048/"><span style="color:#33ff33;">condeming the move</span></a>, 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?<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">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. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34343469.post-68586882471109574702007-12-02T14:21:00.000-08:002007-12-02T14:38:13.694-08:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Who's been a naughty boy then? - Part 2.</strong></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5uxFCKkwvo0uMtriGR8uS8KGOLvyC2DMXJxF7SeaszaQruFMUyaSSAQjdTPRnn4gtzEQcpSdLIWgDbOy2js5AFvLacEQBR6SmfTpb3xN55FZuMIw21kbHBpFXrHFV3XgUR5a0sQ/s1600-r/Compressor+pic..bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139504591322772386" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV9SyUwy8BmAMKc-KAb6gX8hbOwjnGaia3oAoi6aN-vEuEckp2kReagnXNF-h1sc91Z0tSHJItUIRXHm_14CzHX_5J3eA2ZV_O_EbPl0vV-ugODGS-VFWq7NRZFHQ6CqI85Z6nFg/s400/Compressor+pic..bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Nothing new there then.<br /><br />Given that they've produced a leaflet making clear that they <a href="http://www.nationalgrid.com/NR/rdonlyres/982DAC97-AB0F-4F58-8359-2B23508D6991/9457/Factsheet8Felindrecompressor.pdf">do</a> require a consent, it'll be interesting to see how they wriggle out of their much vaunted commitment to public safety this time...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0