Politics

Energy policy and the environment

Published

9 years ago

May 19, 2017

LAST WEEK The Herald looked at the energy market and the ways in which different parties have approached the question of rising domestic energy bills.

That article discussed the ways in which taking advantage of existing energy efficiency schemes and the use of the most competitive tariffs would reduce bills far more than a simple price cut on the most commonly used domestic tariff.

Labour has claimed it will create over 300,000 renewable energy jobs throughout the country and put modern low-carbon industries at the heart of a £500 billion investment strategy, championing ‘a new green industrial revolution’.

One of the big ideas underpinning that commitment is to promote the growth of local energy companies and support the development of 1,000 community energy co-operatives. That’s accompanied by a commitment to 65% renewable electricity by 2030, aiming for 85% as technology improves and diffuses.

All of which will sound very familiar to Plaid Cymru, whose Shadow Environment spokesperson, Simon Thomas AM, has called for the creation of Ynni Cymru to promote Wales’ own self-sufficiency in domestic energy. It sounds like Plaid’s clothes have been lifted by Jeremy Corbyn’s promises to invest in similar schemes and raise investment across the UK.

Labour has set out a radical commitment to set up publicly-owned energy supply companies in every region focused purely on cutting prices. Under the same proposals, Government would take ‘control of the natural monopolies of the transmission and distribution grids’ currently run by the National Grid.

The Labour leader has made big promises, and the cynical might think that Labour may as well shoot for The Moon, given the remote chances it has of forming an administration under Jeremy Corbyn as PM.

“We’ve got a real opportunity to drive the green economy – to have green jobs, green growth, and make sure that we have our share of the industries of the future. Clearly there’s the climate change agenda, where we’ve got to get back on track, both nationally and internationally. And third, there is the issue of energy security, which I think is vitally important, which we need to do a huge amount of work on.”

Those were big promises, too. They were made seven years ago by David Cameron at the outset of his first term as PM, when he pledged to lead the greenest government ever. By 2013, David Cameron was keen to ‘get rid of all the green crap’, as the hopes of 2010 smashed into the economic and political realities of Treasury austerity.

The rug was pulled from under the renewables industry: following through on the pledge to virtually ban onshore wind, and slashing the feed in tariff. Overall UK carbon emissions had been falling but the growth in renewables deployment stalled, and solar companies employing thousands of people around the country went bust.

Five years later, at the outset of his second term, David Cameron pulled the Green Deal for UK homes.

On every single one of those policy decisions, commitments, and staggering reversals Theresa May went along, bobbing along like a cork on the tide of Cabinet collective responsibility. The number of times she has spoken out on energy policy in public can be counted on the fingers of one thumb. However, she merged the Department of Energy and Climate Change into a new Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in July 2016.

While that suggests a rather less overtly ‘green’ approach to the PR side of politics than her predecessor, it is noteworthy that Theresa May has expressed consistent and strong positions on the issue of energy security. Her first noteworthy public policy decision was to initiate a pause on the development of Hinkley B, ostensibly due to concerns of increasing UK reliance on Chinese investment in its energy infrastructure.

In addition, in a complex and volatile international energy market, there are clear attractions for the PM in adopting measure which enhance energy security and the reduction on the reliance of overseas energy. Her concerns on energy supply were echoed in the 2015 Conservative manifesto, which said: ‘Without secure energy supplies, our country becomes less safe and less prosperous’.

And, in 2008, Mrs May said: “I am thrilled to see that after years of Conservative pressure, we have finally passed a necessary and ambitious piece of legislation on Climate Change. Britain is the first country in the world to formally bind itself to cut greenhouse emissions and I strongly believe this will improve our national and economic security.

“To stay reliant on fossil fuels would mean tying ourselves to increasingly unstable supplies which could endanger our energy security and the Climate Change and Energy Bills mark an important step for both the health of our economy and the health of our nation. It is now vital that we stick to these targets.”

The logic of Mrs May’s evident and consistently expressed concerns on security of energy supply is to make the UK more self-sufficient. There are two sides to that issues: firstly, the extension of green energy generation; secondly, the extension of fracking and nuclear power.

The second limb of that proposition is the most contentious. Fracking is a public relations disaster waiting to happen and the first time it is scheduled to take place in a Conservative-held marginal seat is when we will see just how committed the Conservative party is to its use. As for nuclear power, it requires considerable public support and subsidy to make it even marginally viable for the long term.

The only large energy project requiring anything like the level of price support as nuclear power is the Swansea Tidal Lagoon, which for all its carbon-saving claims involves quarrying stone in Cornwall, building new jetties extending into the Bristol Channel and transporting the stone over by barge to Swansea by the thousands of tonnes to build a tidal barrage affecting marine life and habitats across the whole of Swansea Bay.

For someone as sensitive to polls as Theresa May it is worth noting that the BEIS tracker surveys on consumer views shows significantly higher support for renewable energy (at around 75-80%) than for other options. Opposition to renewables was very low at 4%, with only 1% strongly opposed.

However, and this is where energy policies and political judgement come into play, support for renewables was lower amongst those in social grade DE (72%), aged 65+ (73%), and social renters (75%).

The first two of those groups are key electoral demographics whose support Theresa May is actively courting. The triangulation of Conservative policy on energy, which now appears to have abandoned the notion that competition delivers the best results for energy users, might not swing a lot of votes, but the Conservative leader will not be shy of using every gimmick in her arsenal to court wavering voters looking for a way to justify voting Conservative.

Business

Cwm Deri Vineyard Martletwy holiday lets plans deferred

Published

9 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

CALLS to convert a former vineyard restaurant in rural Pembrokeshire which had been recommended for refusal has been given a breathing space by planners.

In an application recommended for refusal at the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee, Barry Cadogan sought permission for a farm diversification and expansion of an existing holiday operation through the conversion of the redundant former Cwm Deri vineyard production base and restaurant to three holiday lets at Oaklea, Martletwy.

It was recommended for refusal on the grounds of the open countryside location being contrary to planning policy and there was no evidence submitted that the application would not increase foul flows and that nutrient neutrality in the Pembrokeshire Marine SAC would be achieved within this catchment.

An officer report said that, while the scheme was suggested as a form of farm diversification, no detail had been provided in the form of a business case.

Speaking at the meeting, agent Andrew Vaughan-Harries of Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd, after the committee had enjoyed a seasonal break for mince pies, said of the recommendation for refusal: “I’m a bit grumpy over this one; the client has done everything right, he has talked with the authority and it’s not in retrospect but has had a negative report from your officers.”

He said the former Cwm Deri vineyard had been a very successful business, with a shop and a restaurant catering for ‘100 covers’ before it closed two three years ago when the original owner relocated to Carmarthenshire.

He said Mr Cadogan then bought the site, farming over 36 acres and running a small campsite of 20 spaces, but didn’t wish to run a café or a wine shop; arguing the “beautiful kitchen” and facilities would easily convert to holiday let use.

He said a “common sense approach” showed a septic tank that could cope with a restaurant of “100 covers” could cope with three holiday lets, describing the nitrates issue as “a red herring”.

He suggested a deferral for further information to be provided by the applicant, adding: “This is a big, missed opportunity if we just kick this out today, there’s a building sitting there not creating any jobs.”

On the ‘open countryside’ argument, he said that while many viewed Martletwy as “a little bit in the sticks” there was already permission for the campsite, and the restaurant, and the Bluestone holiday park and the Wild Lakes water park were roughly a mile or so away.

He said converting the former restaurant would “be an asset to bring it over to tourism,” adding: “We don’t all want to stay in Tenby or the Ty Hotel in Milford Haven.”

While Cllr Nick Neuman felt the nutrients issue could be overcome, Cllr Michael Williams warned the application was “clearly outside policy,” recommending it be refused.

A counter-proposal, by Cllr Tony Wilcox, called for a site visit before any decision was made, the application returning to a future committee; members voting seven to three in favour of that.

Climate

Fishguard ‘battery box’ scheme near school refused

Published

19 hours ago

December 3, 2025

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

PLANNERS have refused a Pembrokeshire ‘battery box’ electricity storage unit near a Pembrokeshire town school, which has seen local objections including fears of a potential risk to nearby school children.

In an application recommended for approval at the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee, AMP Clean Energy sought permission for a micro energy storage project on land at Fishguard Leisure Centre Car Park, near Ysgol Bro Gwaun.

The application had previously been recommended for approval at the November meeting, but a decision was deferred pending a site visit.

The scheme is one of a number of similar applications by AMP, either registered or approved under delegated planning powers by officers.

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; each giving the potential to power 200 homes for four hours.

The Fishguard scheme, which has seen objections from the town council and members of the public, was before committee at the request of the local member, Cllr Pat Davies.

Fishguard and Goodwick Town Council objected to the proposal on grounds including visual impact, and the location being near the school.

An officer report said the scheme would be well screened by a Paladin Fence, with a need to be sited close to an existing substation.

Speaking at the December meeting, Ben Wallace of AMP Clean Energy conceded the boxes were “not things of beauty” before addressing previously raised concerns of any potential fire risk, saying that “in the incredibly unlikely” event of a fire, the system would contain it for up to two hours, giving “plenty of time” for it to be extinguished, an alarm immediately sounding, with the fire service raising no concerns.

“These are fundamentally safe, the technology is not new,” he said, comparing them to such batteries in phones and laptops.

One of the three objectors at the meeting raised concerns of the proximity to homes and the school, describing it as “an unsafe, unsustainable and unnecessary location,” with Cllr Jim Morgan of Fishguard Town Council, who had previously raised concerns of the “nightmare scenario” of a fire as children were leaving the school, also voicing similar issues.

Local county councillor Pat Davies, who had spoken at the previous meeting stressing she was not against the technology, just the location and the potential risk to pupils, said the siting would be “a visual intrusion,” with the school having many concerns about the scheme, adding it had been “brought forward without any dialogue of consultation with the school”.

Cllr Davies added: “It is unacceptable that a micro-storage unit should be proposed in this area; someone somewhere has got it wrong.”

Following a lengthy debate, committee chair Cllr Mark Carter proposed going against officers in refusing the scheme; members unanimously refusing the application.

Climate

Fears Sageston wind turbine scheme could affect bats

Published

19 hours ago

December 3, 2025

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

AN APPLICATION for a wind turbine nearly 250 foot high on the road to Tenby, recommended to be turned down due to a lack of information on how it could affect bats, has been put on hold.

In an application recommended for refusal at the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s planning committee, Constantine Wind Energy Ltd sought permission for a 76-metre-high wind turbine at Summerton Farm, Sageston.

Back in 2024, an application to replace a current 60.5m high turbine on the site with one up to 90 metres, or just under 300 foot, at the site was refused on the grounds its height and scale would have a detrimental impact on the visual amenity of the locality, with the additional clause of failing to comply with supplementary guidance.

A report for committee members on the latest application says the smaller turbine than previously proposed, representing a 16-metre increase in height from a previously granted turbine “would not be sufficient for it to become an overbearing feature in the landscape,” with no objections from either the Council Landscape Officer or Natural Resources Wales.

However, concerns were raised by the council ecologist that the applicant’s Preliminary Ecological Appraisal Report was incomplete.

“The Council Ecologist questions why the response received in relation to myotis bat records were not included within the initial PEA. As such, he considers that the PEA does not present enough information on the possible presence of bats within the application site area.

“Whilst there may be negligible foraging and commuting potential, there are records of foraging on grassland within two kilometres which have positive identification of myotis bat foraging, along with greater and lesser horseshoe bat foraging. He also notes that the application site is in close proximity to a wooded area.”

It was recommended for refusal on the grounds that appraisal report, and technical note, “do not adequately address the impact of the proposed wind turbine on bat activity in the area”.

At the committee meeting, members heard the scheme had been temporarily withdrawn to deal with issues raised, the application expected to return to a future meeting.