Why we protested at the Senedd 

As the organiser of the Mid Wales wind farm rally protest at the Senedd on May 24, I feel that your readers should be aware as to why 2,000 people from Mid Wales protested last month.

Mid Wales is planned to have an additional 700+ super turbines where wind farm developers under the current Technical Advice Note Tan 8 can apply to build wind farms.

This ill conceived and badly thought out policy was introduced in 2005 by the then environmental minister – namely the current First Minister Carwyn Jones. Tan 8 effectively gives licence to developers to apply and hence the 700+ currently in the planning process although none have yet to come to a planning meeting.

Consultants Capita Symons were commissioned by both WAG and Powys CC to study the transportation issues. Their report published in October 2008 stated that the “scale of the planned development is unprecedented and will be the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken in the principality”.

At no stage were the people of Mid Wales consulted and this badly flawed policy did not take into account the following:

Each turbine will need transporting from the costal ports at Ellesmere in the north and Swansea in the south. Each turbine will have to be split into seven sections, each being an abnormal load with police escort at front and rear. Due to safety reasons transportation will have to be in daylight hours and will involve 4,900 abnormal loads clogging up our roads at the rate of one a day for 13 years (if all are allowed to go ahead ).

Each of these super turbines requires a massive concrete base and will involve an additional three million lorry movements.

On top of this, National Grid will be building a hub power station on 19 acres from which a 400kV line will constructed to take power over 40 miles to Shropshire.

In addition a further 100 miles of pylons (132kV) will be built from individual wind farms to the hub power station.

Mid Wales relies on its tourist industry where businesses and over 6,500 jobs are at risk.

It is now proven, with the transportation footprint ( 90% of material imported) plus the construction, peat extraction, traffic chaos , due to volatility of wind energy turbines will require 75% fossil fuel back up, that the whole project will increase CO².

All this for what ?

This £2bn+ project will yield a annual output from 700+ additional turbines of 200MW at present efficiency levels … equivalent to around a tenth of the output from a conventional power station .

Why is Mid Wales being massacred for such a miserable output?

That is why we took the fight to the Senedd in the largest ever protest at the Assembly.

First Minister Carwyn Jones has not got the guts to discuss any of the above and is refusing to review Tan 8

The people of Mid Wales will never forgive the Welsh Government, which has recently been given greater powers by the people it is supposed to represent.

This will be the first instance when our own Government can decide the future of its fellow citizens – Carwyn Jones, remember you are First Minister for the whole of Wales.

RICHARD BONFIELD

Kerry, Mid Wales