Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Cutting onshore wind subsidies.

Ben Brogan has written a hugely encouraging article in today's Telegraph. The subject is the amount of subsidy that's being fed to satisfy the voracious appetites of international energy leviathans to visit a general ugliness on the most beautiful parts of Britain by building huge numbers of wind farms. This wanton desecration will be nowhere greater than that proposed for Mid Wales.

For some time its been accepted that the level of subsidies is absurdly high, enabling the leviathans to warp the debate by lavishing 'community benefit' on lovely rural Britain, as ugly billionaires buy the affection of beautiful young women with diamonds. For some time its been accepted that a 10% reduction will allow the advance of turbines to continue unabated. To have any genuine impact, and ensure that costs are driven down, a 25% cut in subsidies is vital. Ben Brogan reports that the Chancellor of the Exchequer is considering such a cut. If true, this will make George Osborne mindblowingly popular across Mid Wales. He will immediately become even more popular with me than he already is.

We are also told that First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones has repeated his view that the targets for onshore wind in Mid Wales (as proposed in his infamous TAN8 policy)  does not need National Grid's 20acre substation and 100 miles of cabling, including a 400 kV line on massive steel towers all the way from mid Wales to mid Shropshire - a truly terrifyingly hideous prospect. In any other policy area, one might think this opinion would carry weight - but we're not dealing with normality. We are dealing with an industry that respects no-one, and tramples the opinion and lives of human beings underfoot, as wholly expendable in pursuit of their 'religion'.  Let us hope, for the sake of the beauty of Britain that Ben Brogan is accurately informed.

6 comments:

JohnJ said...

"Ben Brogan reports that the Chancellor of the Exchequer is considering such a cut".

How can it be that newspaper commentators seem to have more knowledge than elected MPs???

Mike said...

Glyn

Can you clarify your position on this story http://www.mywelshpool.co.uk/newsviewer/tabid/1387/ArticleId/3873/MP-joins-call-for-green-economy.aspx

As you know RSPB are a sham charity who make money through wind farm EA for the wind industry and also support wind farms despite them shredding birds etc. Also stop climate chaos are a hard core left wing front group for agenda 21 supporters and wind farm nutters such as WWF FOE Greenpeace etc. Are you seriously supporting these people? They are deluded fanatics who will stop at nothing for control. Their power is frightening and they should be stripped of their charity status as they are political action groups not charities. Greenpeace was recently stripped of its charity status in New Zealand because of this. Its very very concerning to see you hanging round with hard core millitant left wing organisations that all support the destruction of Montgomeryshire for a hundreds of wind subsidy farms.

Glyn Davies said...

JohnJ - Way of the world I'm afraid. Mike - I have been an enthusiast in support of renewable energy for decades, and it makes me very frustrated that its become synonymous with onshore wind, the scale of which proposed for mid Wales is wholly unreasonable. Have also been a member of RSPB for 40 years, and am not going to withdraw my support because of the body's misguided policy in one particular area. If everone walked away from every body which supported some daft policies, we would be leaving them all to the 'lefties'.

Richard, Berriew said...

While I welcome your support for a major cut in subsidies, which would halt or at least slow down major wind farm developments, I wonder if you have a view about the seemingly growing trend for single turbine proposals. In Powys there are several such single turbines either being built or applied for. While I can see the attraction to rural landowners, and have seen the advertisements from retailers in the local press, the cumulative effect of a number of such applications, if successful, would be equivalent to a wind farm. Can this, and should this, be resisted?

Glyn Davies said...

Richard - I do have a view, and again its all about scale. I do not think the odd turbine will have too much impact, but we could well be talking about several hundred in Montgomeryshire alone. Its already happening in parts of Wales. I hope the planners will impose some serious limits on this

Dave said...

Anyone with any understand of energy technology and policy will know that the functionality and benefits of onshore wind are beyond question.

Furthermore, they will know that due to decades of chronic underinvestment, the UK now faces the choice where its only non-fossil fuel options for the next 25-30 years is wind and nuclear.

As a county we need to face the reality that the day is coming where renewables become cheaper than oil or gas. Especially given that fact that we already subsidise fossil fuels far more than we do renewables globally (in lives as well as pounds)

Wind energy is here to stay in mid Wales and the British public back it, long may that unrivaled support continue.