Environment and Sustainability Committee
Inquiry into Energy Policy and Planning in Wales

EPP 66 – Carole O’Reilly

TAN 8 should reject wind farms entirely. Wind power is a red herring being falsely justified under the banners of ‘energy security’ and ‘carbon saving’ when neither is true.

Wind power is grossly inefficient, unpredictable and un-green since it needs constant gas-powered back-up. Its highly visible and sprawling infrastructure creates disproportionate destruction to our prized asset: one of the most stunningly beautiful landscapes in the world which needs protection, not desecration. It is a wildlife habitat, a visual amenity and the foundation of our tourist industry.

TAN8’s original conception was not based on monstrous 606 ft turbines blighting every hill-top, and 150 feet pylons defacing hundreds of miles of high grade landscape.

Regarding ‘green’ claims: when the wind lobby (Renewable UK) states it uses ‘relatively little back-up’, it omits to say that the gas back-up is running constantly and at an inefficient rate that actually increases carbon emissions. If gas power has to run as a permanent back-up, then wind power is irrelevant since it cannot stand alone. Why, then, are we building wind power at all?

The window of usable wind is small. Mid-Wales has low wind efficiency: 18% of the turbine’s capacity. In very windy conditions the Grid cannot cope so has to be shut down. Last week, after one day’s shut-down due to the tail of hurricane Katchi, £2.6 million was paid to the wind companies for loss of output, a bill footed by the British consumer. This situation is ludicrous, unfair, immoral and unsustainable.

TAN 8 made no environmental assessment. There was no account taken of the cumulative effects of vast numbers of wind farms, flooding from excess concrete bases, and no regard for the loss of visual amenity and the impact to tourism and the Welsh economy with 6500 jobs at stake from gross industrialisation of the natural landscape.

There was no noise or health assessments made, nor mention of EMFs and amplitude modulation which creates leukaemia and mental health problems.

There was no regard for the dire traffic chaos impending from the construction of 800 turbines and the 3000 abnormal loads and 22,000 heavy loads over 7 years which will threaten emergency services and disrupt the day to day running of all businesses. Our lifestyle will be violated and the devastation to the Welsh economy and landscape - designated in 1972 as a National Park - will be complete. The character of our landscape will be lost forever. It is a crime against landscape. Paradise Wales crucified.

Wind farms are factories that fail to produce a viable commodity. All they do is blight the economy and landscape whilst robbing us of money and amenity.

The recent English rioters were imprisoned for stealing items of under £20 whilst these (largely foreign) investors are robbing us of our land and livelihoods, and we are paying them a fortune to do it!

Winning WW2 was pointless if our land can so easily be invaded, raided and ‘wind-bombed’ by foreign powers who then charge us for their takeover!

This white elephant Whitehall Fraud should be shunned by the Welsh Government – as should the massive bribes. It is a scandalous waste of money which should be directed at non-obtrusive, non-destructive, efficient alternatives like tidal and solar power. A review of TAN8 should take this lead.

Yours sincerely,

Carole O’Reilly,