Green energy plan ‘won’t benefit’ Wales residents – BBC News

From the end of Dina Smith’s driveway, there is greenery as far as the eye can see. Sunlight touches the hills and moorland peaks.

“Just watch it,” he says as we take it all in. “This is beautiful, untouched Mid Wales.”

But all this could change if plans for a major wind turbine project are approved.

For Dina, the valley is a “special place”, where she, her daughters and their families live and where her grandfather grew up.

In preparation for the general election, he contacted the BBC through the Sauti Yako, Kura Yako website with his concerns. “I just don’t want my grandchildren to look around this valley with industrial views of turbines and poles and roads, and ask: ‘What did you do about it Nanna?'” he said.

The Towy Usk project is proposed by renewable energy company Green GEN Cymru and will take power from 31 giant turbines along a 60-mile pole “route” spanning almost the width of Wales, to be connected to the national grid.

Although it’s local councils and the Welsh government that issue planning permission, the reason power lines take so long is that there are a limited number of points, which are controlled by the UK government, where large power projects can be connected. on the grid.

And whoever leads the next government has a tough job on their hands: keeping energy bills down while millions still struggle, ensuring energy security and meeting green energy targets.

Projects like this in Wales are part of that mix.

But some of the residents of the area that I have been talking to have said that the construction of the turbine will destroy the existing forest, and remove the ancient trees along the way of the construction of the pole.

“It’s destroying the environment in an attempt to save the environment” is a response I keep hearing.

In recent years, there has been significant progress in the development of offshore wind, and local residents want the English and Welsh governments to focus on offshore renewable technology instead.

But RenewableUK Cymru’s Abi Beck says onshore wind needs to remain part of the mix.

“Onshore wind is the cheapest, fastest to build and the most easily deployable technology we have for renewable energy.

“And we really need to increase the amount of renewable energy we produce if we’re going to come close to meeting our goals in the next decade,” he says.

The difficulty here is that the place where the onshore wind is produced is a long way from where you can plug into the UK grid.

Green GEN Cymru says it is listening to residents’ concerns but “the existing grid in Mid and West Wales does not have nearly enough capacity to connect the renewable energy we need to our homes and businesses, locally and nationally”.

Llandovery farmer Dyfan Walters knows that all too well. “We all know the infrastructure needs to be improved,” he says. “I’m not against renewable energy.”

He and his wife, Carys, have just finished building their family farm on the land where Carys grew up. There are now plans for two pylons in their grounds so they have become members of the Llandovery Pylon Steering Group.

“This plan is not going to benefit anyone here in the Towy Valley,” Dyfan says. “It’s sending energy to the national grid that will be used by others.”

Therefore, Dyfan thinks Green GEN should use the most modern technology to send wires underground instead of using poles, regardless of the cost it may be to the company.

That’s the guarantee – those living in the valley feel they are being forced to pay the price for green targets set more than 200 miles away in Westminster.

Work says it will work with the private sector to double onshore wind, triple solar and quadruple offshore wind by 2030.

Conservative Party it says in its manifesto that it will “ensure democratic approval for offshore wind” and strike the right balance between energy security and local communities’ views. It says it aims to ensure local areas that host onshore wind benefit directly, including through reduced energy bills.

Liberal Democrats they say they will accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and provide energy security by removing barriers to new solar and wind energy.

Plaid Cymru it says Wales should have full control over energy sources without any upper limit or conditions imposed by the UK government, and “that the beauty of the natural landscape of Wales should be preserved”. It says that large-scale development of pie or solar development should be considered in the context of their effects and alternative methods of connecting renewable energy to the national grid should be implemented, including through underground cables.

Evolution It says that the net zero is to push the bill, destroy British industries like steel and make Britain less safe. It says the environment can be protected by planting more trees, recycling and using single-use plastics.

Green Party he wants wind power to provide around 70% of the UK’s electricity by 2030.

Part of the SNP it says it is committed to ensuring that at least 50% of energy consumption comes from renewable sources by 2030 “by striking a balance between sustainable development and our natural environment”.