FURTHER micro energy storage facility ‘battery box’ schemes in Pembrokeshire have been considered by county planners, with one backed and one withdrawn by the applicants.

In two separate applications to Pembrokeshire County Council, AMP Clean Energy sought permission for micro energy storage projects on land at Waterloo Industrial Estate, Eastern Avenue, Pembroke Dock, and land between Steynton Road and Sheffield Drive, Milford Haven.

A supporting statement accompanying each application says: “AMP Clean Energy is developing Battery Boxes across the UK to provide a low carbon, flexible and de-centralised store of electricity that benefits local communities, businesses, and homes.”

It says the battery boxes import electricity from the local electricity network when demand for electricity is low or when there are high levels of renewable energy available, exporting it back during periods of high demand to help address grid reliability issues prompted by an increase of intermittent (wind and solar) generation.

AMP Clean Energy says it is developing up to 1,250-plus Battery Boxes in the UK over the next three years and, to date, has received planning consent for more than 80 such schemes.

It says each box, which takes up roughly two car parking spaces, stores 800kWh of electricity, giving the potential to power 200 homes for four hours where there is a supply disruption.

The battery box schemes are part of a raft of applications in the county.

AMP was previously granted approval for schemes on land between King Street and Meyrick Street, Pembroke Dock and land in between Castle Quarry and Haven Court, Pembroke.

AMP Clean Energy was also recently granted permission for micro energy storage projects at on a verge at the Bridge Innovation Centre, Pembroke Dock, and land to the south of Withybush Road, Withybush Industrial Estate, Haverfordwest.

However, a scheme for a micro energy storage project on land at Fishguard Leisure Centre Car Park, near Ysgol Bro Gwaun was refused by the council’s planning committee late last year.

That scheme was refused, against an officer recommendation of approval, after concerns were raised including being in “an unsafe, unsustainable and unnecessary location,” and the “nightmare scenario” of a fire as children were leaving the school, with was disputed by AMP’s agent.

The latest Pembroke Dock application was conditionally approved but the Milford Haven scheme has been withdrawn.

A PETITION call for backing for a Pembrokeshire council group looking at its previous climate change commitment will be heard by councillors.

Last July, councillors agreed to set up a group to review its own decision to declare a climate emergency some six years ago.

In May 2019, the council declared a climate emergency following a notice of motion by Cllr Joshua Beynon, committing to becoming a zero-carbon local authority by 2030.

At the July 2025 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, a successful notice of motion by the late Cllr Mike Stoddart called for the establishment of a working group to review that decision.

That led to a recent petition, by Lynda Duffill of West Wales Climate Coalition, which attracted 725 signatures, calling on the council to reaffirm its Declaration of a Climate Emergency, and retain the ambition to deliver Net Zero Council operations by 2030.

That petition was considered at the October meeting of full council; members agreeing the working group be asked to ensure the petition is included as evidence in its consideration of the matters referred to it by the council resolution in July 2025.

This led to a further petition, concerned at a potential increase in council tax from a re-affirmation of a Declaration of a Climate Emergency.

The latest e-petition, on the council’s own website, created by Carolyn Ellis, reads: “We call upon all elected members of Pembrokeshire County Council to support and to take seriously the working group tasked with the review of the ‘climate emergency’ called in 2019 (by the-then 21-year-old councillor Joshua Beynon) and to question the hefty funds needed to spend on ‘net zero’.

“We refer to the recent petition by the West Wales Climate Coalition which purports to speak for the residents and council tax-payers of Pembrokeshire.

“There is potentially a far higher number of residents who do not share this unsubstantiated view and who are extremely concerned about the potential for huge hikes in council tax, especially if this tax is linked in future to the carbon efficiency of homes and businesses.

“This was hinted at as a possible lever for encouraging ‘compliance’ with decarbonising homes in the ‘Better Homes, Better Wales, Better World’ report. Therefore, not only could we be faced with more taxes, but also inevitable deterioration in service provision by PCC.”

The current petition runs to March 26, and has attracted 253 signatures to date.

Any petition of between 100 and 499 signatures triggers a debate at one of the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committees, and any over 500 a debate at full council.

Watchdog says urgent joint action is needed — with only two of 61 habitats classed as favourable nationwide

NATURAL RESOURCES WALES has issued a stark warning about the state of the nation’s wildlife and landscapes after publishing the first full Wales-wide assessment of the conservation status of key habitats and species.

The report, released under embargo at 12:01am on Thursday (Jan 22), brings together evidence on habitats and non-bird species of international importance, alongside assessments for all birds in Wales. NRW said it provides the clearest national picture yet of how species and habitats are faring, the pressures driving decline, and what measures are most likely to support recovery.

The findings are intended to act as a baseline for efforts to halt biodiversity loss and will feed into Wales’ next State of Natural Resources Report (SoNaRR), which NRW said is due to be published on Thursday (Jan 29).

The assessment makes sobering reading.

Of the 61 habitats assessed, only two were found to be in favourable condition across Wales as a whole. Nearly 80% were classed as “unfavourable-bad”, underlining what NRW described as the scale of the challenge facing nature recovery in Wales.

Among 53 non-bird species, just 14 were assessed as being in favourable condition, while 16 were found to be in serious decline. NRW said these include Atlantic salmon, which has suffered steep falls in numbers in recent years.

For marine species — excluding seabirds — the report found only four were in favourable condition, while the conservation status of others remains poorly understood due to gaps in evidence.

The report also highlights steep declines in 16 species, including the Marsh fritillary butterfly and rare plants such as the fen orchid. But NRW said the overall picture is not entirely bleak, pointing to some bird species that have increased significantly in Wales over the past two decades, including the Atlantic puffin.

NRW said pressures vary between habitats and species, but the main drivers of decline include agriculture, climate change, pollution and urban development. It also highlights disease impacts on birds and water-related pressures affecting fish — factors which can combine and compound one another.

The assessment draws on evidence from long-running monitoring programmes, independent research and citizen science. It examines range, population trends, habitat condition and long-term prospects, alongside the pressures continuing to drive losses.

NRW said the complexity of the threats means solutions must be joined-up, long-term and delivered collectively — not as isolated projects — but argued that nature can recover where action is targeted and sustained.

It pointed to partnership work already underway, including peatland restoration and carbon protection, and programmes aimed at reversing bird declines, including the Wales Curlew Action Plan and the Welsh Seabird Conservation Strategy.

NRW also said several species have been successfully restored through reintroduction programmes and habitat management, including fen orchid, shore dock, natterjack toad and sand lizard. Work is also underway on freshwater pearl mussel recovery.

Other initiatives highlighted include the £26.6m Welsh Government-funded Nature Networks programme, aimed at improving and connecting habitats across Wales, and the Natur am Byth species recovery programme, described as a major partnership effort focused on preventing extinctions while engaging communities.

Mary Lewis, Head of Natural Resource Management Policy at NRW, said the report offers both a warning and a roadmap.

“This report paints a sobering picture of nature in Wales,” she said. “The scale of decline is concerning, but we cannot afford to see it as inevitable.

“What this assessment gives us is clarity: clarity on where nature is under the greatest pressure, and clarity on what needs to be done. It provides the evidence base we need to target our work, and to help others target theirs.”

She added that NRW is already working with a wide range of partners — including farmers, land managers, local authorities, communities, organisations and government — to restore habitats, improve river health, and support nature-friendly farming through the Sustainable Farming Scheme.

Lewis said the report will also help guide priorities linked to Wales’ commitment to protect and effectively manage 30% of land and sea by 2030.

“This baseline, taken together with the evidence highlighted in our SoNaRR report will guide our future priorities, and ensure that Wales’ response to the nature and climate emergencies is grounded in robust evidence,” she said.

“By acting together now, we can secure a nature-rich, climate-resilient Wales that supports the wellbeing of current and future generations.”

NRW said the data and learning from the assessment is already being used to shape its forthcoming State of Natural Resources Report, due to be launched next week on Thursday (Jan 29).