Real Energy Independence: An Energy Policy fit for 2050
Wales and the world are facing an energy crunch. Volatile supplies of fossil fuels are pushing up household bills and forcing more people into fuel poverty. There is no solution to the long-term risks of nuclear waste and we face a race against time to cut our carbon emissions by 90% or more to avoid the worst effects of climate change. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is still an unproven technology, which means we need to phase out coal, oil and gas and look elsewhere. Fortunately, there is another way – real energy independence. Wales is blessed with massive amounts of untapped renewable energy and its sustainable development is key. Wales’s energy system should reflect the need to live within our environmental limits using only our fair share of the earth’s resources. The power of our tidal currents, wind, waves and the sun which could be harnessed has led to Wales being dubbed 'the Saudi Arabia of renewables'. And we can look elsewhere in the world for inspiration. Denmark recently made a series of ambitious energy policy announcements. By 2020, half of Denmark's electricity will be generated by wind turbines; by 2035, all of the country's electricity and heating needs will be met by renewables; and by 2050, all transport needs will also be met by renewables.
So why not Wales?
If we, like Denmark, gain control of our own energy resources, we can not only ensure that Wales has a secure, affordable and clean energy supply – we can sell any surplus to our neighbours. And of course, Wales is not alone and we will seek to engage with other partners in Europe to ensure the most effective renewables-based EU grid can be developed, swapping our wind with Spanish sun; our tide with Scottish hydropower as needed. By bringing decision-making to Welsh communities, renewable energy developments can be democratically accountable and bring economic and social benefits to communities – in contrast to the centralised and extractive model favoured by the British parties. 1
The energy plan
How, then, can we ramp up renewable energy generation to a scale where all of our transport, heating and electricity needs are met by 2050? Without control of consenting power stations, any energy plan is hot air. Targets and aspirations laid out in the energy route map for Wales are meaningless if we await the beneficence of Whitehall. Between 2008 and 2010, for example, while renewable electricity generation ramped up by 16% in the rest of the UK, it actually decreased here in Wales. Clearly we can't count on Westminster to fight for a renewable Wales. We need full consenting and planning powers for all electricity generation infrastructure. The Barnett consequential resulting from devolution of these powers would pay for a new Department of Energy for Wales. This Department would be based in Wales' own energy island, Ynys M么n, bringing high-quality, long-term jobs to a part of Wales where per capita income is about half of the UK average. It could also bring benefits to Bangor University and Coleg Menai students, academics and associated commercial activity. Two of the 19 nuclear power stations that have existed in the UK are in Wales, so we could also expect a proportionate share (10.5% or 拢263m worth) of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to be based in Llangefni. We'd be playing catch-up with Scotland, but we would need to provide strong incentives for renewable installations in Wales. That means planning reform with a presumption in favour of renewable schemes, with a minimum guaranteed community benefit to ensure that local communities reap the rewards both now and in the future. There would also be a presumption against any new fossil fuel plant coming on-line. Existing fossil fuel plants are there solely to enable the transition to a low-carbon future, with effort made to retrofit carbon capture and storage wherever it proves feasible.
So the building blocks of our energy plan are starting to take shape: Powers to consent all electricity generation infrastructure to be transferred to the National Assembly for Wales as a matter of urgency. 2. An Energy Department for Wales to be established on Ynys M么n as soon as powers are transferred. 3. A presumption against any new fossil fuel power stations, and a full moratorium on new nuclear. 4. The Energy Department to publish a detailed energy plan leading to a fully renewable Wales by 2050. 1.
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If we have the vision, a fully renewable Wales is achievable. The power generated by solar panels in Germany last year was enough to power more than 5 million homes. In 2009, Sweden – which plans to be the world’s first oil-free economy – reached 56% renewable electricity generation, while Wales produced just 5%. Tied as we are to an England and Wales regime that shows little regard for Welsh ambition, we will – yet again – be bringing up the rear in a field of crucial importance to jobs and growth.
Energy saving and efficiency
Reducing demand must be the starting point for a sustainable energy system. We must tackle the national scandal of deaths and hardship caused by fuel poverty as a top priority. With hundreds of thousands of homes in Wales lacking decent insulation, upgrading our housing stock is an urgent task. The Arbed scheme, which began when Plaid was last in government, should be massively scaled up to ensure that all homes in Wales are highly insulated. In the very short term, Wales must do what it can to make the most of the UK Green Deal programme. Over time, we must move to a situation where full control of energy companies is brought under Welsh control, with money raised from bills spent on insulating homes, particularly those of the most vulnerable, instead of lining the pockets of shareholders. Waste heat from public, industrial or commercial sites should be shared with local communities rather than wasted. Wales should be at the forefront of developing improved building standards, with new buildings designed to capture and store passive heat and light. We also need a low-energy transport system which supports wellbeing, prosperity and a better environment. Top priority should be given to reducing the need to travel through smart planning, video conferencing and providing good services locally. Decentralised economic development will allow people to find work nearer to home. Walking and cycling facilities need to be made attractive and convenient, with investment shifted from supporting the private car to these more sustainable options, along with much improved public transport, including electrified railways and buses. In rural areas, demand3
responsive transport such as the Bwcabus service should become mainstream.
Local energy independence – giving power to communities
We recognise that the people of Wales need renewable energy, but too often their voices are ignored and they don't see the benefits. Renewable energy development should be brought closer to communities in order to deliver the extra capacity needed to give us the secure, affordable and clean energy we need. Each council area in Wales should be given appropriate local targets for renewable energy generation and carbon budgeting, with the people in each of those communities given control of meeting those targets in the way that suits those communities best - through wind, tidal, solar, biomass or other renewable technologies. We should empower communities to take forward their own plans, rather than being dependent on outside companies alone, as well as support an increasing role for community co-operatives. Projects such as the Green Valleys initiative in the Brecon Beacons show that community energy can work.
Severn Tidal Power
We have a fabulous renewable resource right on our doorstep with the tremendous Severn tidal range. But we also know that if captured in the wrong way, tidal energy schemes could cause major damage to the precious habitats of the estuary. I'm determined that we find ways to harness the power of the Severn without destroying its wildlife. Further work is needed with the engineering community to find ways to make this possible. Any Severn tidal schemes must also be carried out in the public interest of the people of Wales, not simply benefit shareholders and private industry.
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New nuclear?
Some people argue that nuclear can be part of the solution for Wales. But nuclear power is very expensive, it diverts finance from investing in renewables, and it can't come on stream soon enough to make Wales' rapid decarbonisation a reality. Perhaps most importantly, while current generations reap the benefits of relatively cheap electricity, the costs of dealing with dangerous radioactive waste will pile up on our descendants thousands of years into the future. Buy now, pay later – a nuclear ideology that's the antithesis of sustainable development. Even if a cogent argument could be made for nuclear, it would only be a rational option for highly centralised command-and-control states. What relevance would one nuclear power station have in an independent Wales where local, decentralised power generation is the norm? Uranium that is mined, milled, processed and imported from elsewhere. Expertise imported from elsewhere. And waste, presumably, dealt with elsewhere. We've already seen the impact of a lack of economies of scale in Finland's ill-fated sojourn into nuclear power. A new reactor at Olkiluoto nuclear power station, now running 4 years behind the original 4 year timeline and already enjoying an overspend of €2.7bn, is widely recognised as a nuclear white elephant. Not that the experienced French are having much better luck at Flamanville (2 years behind schedule after 2½ years and at least €1bn over budget). Nuclear is unsafe, expensive and a distraction from the cheap, abundant natural energy resources we have around us.
Fossil fuel development
While energy saving and renewable energy development will go a long way towards tackling climate change, we will not succeed unless we substantially reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. All new gas fields in Wales must have CCS fitted and we need to start a managed decline in coal mining activity. Any additional gas-fired power stations in Wales must be fitted with cutting-edge waste heat capture to provide low cost heat for 5
neighbouring houses and businesses’ and should take the place of dirtier power stations in Wales on a like-for-like basis
The Crown Estate
Real energy independence is about giving the Welsh people the full benefits of the energy resources of Wales. The Crown Estate – a portfolio of property which includes much of the seabed around Wales - generated a gross surplus from its Welsh holdings of £2.3m in 2009-10 with capital receipts bringing in £1.8m. It owns more than 3,000 acres across Wales, principally agricultural holdings. Profits earned by the Crown Estate are paid to the Treasury, according to them, for “the benefit of the nation”. It is high time that profits which are earned from Wales’ natural resources (and those resources themselves), such as the seabed and the land should instead be owned by the Welsh Government for the benefit of the people of Wales.
Conclusion
Wales is blessed with some of the best renewable resources in Europe. It's time to make the most of them, putting the people of Wales in control of the clean energy revolution - the path to real energy independence.
Leanne Wood AM February 2012
Leanne Wood 2012 │A vision for Plaid and for Wales
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