Can Wales Tackle the Energy Challenges of the Future ?

March 23, 2008

According to Welsh Assembly Government First Minister, Wales is rising to the challenge of the changing world of energy and leading the way in the UK.

At an Energy Summit this week the First Minister said that since he last met delegates at the annual summit, the pace of change in the energy sector has continued to accelerate at European, UK and Wales levels culminating last week with the publication of the Wales Renewable Energy Route Map, the first to be published by a UK administration. Mr Morgan said:

The energy world has been a tremendously busy one, both at project and policy level, since we last met a year ago.

The key to our aims is to maximise Wales’ contribution to the abatement of global warming, not to produce a set of strategies that make the Welsh figures look good.

I am pleased to say that in Wales we have been equally busy meeting the tasks of securing our energy needs for the future.

It represents another big step by our small country on the path to making Wales a low carbon energy economy.

Expanding the production and use of low carbon and secure energy is one of the Assembly Government’s key One Wales commitments.

The Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing, Jane Davidson, told the Summit that the Assembly Government was unique in Europe in having a legal duty to promote sustainable development:

Tackling climate change is my top priority and I believe the Route Map, which I launched in Cwmbran and London last week, is one of the ways that we can achieve this.

Climate change is with us. We have to deal with it but we cannot tackle it alone. Everybody in Wales needs to be taking part in the consultation around the Route Map as this will inform our Energy Strategy which we will be publishing before the end of the year.

I was pleased with the warm welcome that the Route Map received and it is good to meet people at summits like this to exchange views with all the stakeholders so that we can get the strategy right.

There is no magic bullet for tackling climate change. The Assembly Government is determined to do all that it can to ensure that we:

  • All stop wasting energy
  • All invest in more energy efficiency in our buildings and processes
  • Reduce the carbon intensity of energy generation as quickly as practicable.

Wales is blessed with the kind of natural resources – geography, climate, tides – which can reach 33 terrawatt hours of renewable electricity by 2025 – a level that is equal to electricity demand.

The First Minister outlined to the Summit the major projects that have been developing in the last year including:

  • The LNG terminals in Milford Haven nearing completion
  • RWE are completing major flue gas desulphurisation installations and boiler upgrades at Aberthaw power station
  • Rhyl flats offshore windfarm has started construction – one of the UK’s largest.
  • Consent for Welsh Power’s 800 MW gas-fired power station at Uskmouth and Prenergy’s 350 MW biomass at Port Talbot – the latter being the world’s largest biomass-fired electricity power station
  • While Tower Colliery close other coal developments are progressing across South Wales and longer term underground coal gasification prospects are being intensively studied at Cardiff University.

Other renewables milestones include the Bluestone biomass project and the announcement of multi-megawatt tidal stream projects off Pembrokeshire and Anglesey.

An announcement is due shortly of the outcome on the Forestry Commission Wind-farm tendering process.

Posted in Environment

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