Down with this sort of thing

Today I saw one of the biggest protests I have ever seen at the Senedd. At least 1,000 residents of mid Wales descended on Cardiff Bay to voice their opposition to, well, to several things. Firstly to the proposed siting of pylons and sub-stations in Montgomeryshire and secondly, perhaps, to the very idea of windfarms at all in mid Wales. Behind it all, however, was a real sense of being ignored by a Welsh metropolitan elite.

There’s no doubt that the grid proposals have stirred up a hornets’ nest in the area and some politicians have seen the opportunity to jump on board with their own agendas. I listened during the election campaign to two Tory candidates swear blind that they were opposed to ALL onshore windfarms in Wales. Whilst at the same time their government in Westminster, which actually approves all energy developments over 50MW in Wales, hands out grants and incentivises the market to encourage such developments.

I am always reluctant to jump on any passing bandwagon. I’d like to think out of a sense of principle, but it’s fair to say out of experience as well. Bandwagons rarely stop where you want to get off.

So today’s event was a difficult gig for a Plaid politician who believes passionately that Wales’ wealth – both environmental and economic – lies in her hills; whether as potential windfarm sites; as water regulating and providing sponges, or for sustainable agriculture.

I felt able to address the crowd however, despite the overwhelming Conservative presence (whipped up to narrow partisanship by one Tory AM), because of three key principles:

Firstly, Plaid Cymru has long acknowledged that TAN 8 – the Welsh Government’s guidance to renewable energy development in Wales – had got things wrong by concentrating onshore wind in particular in relatively narrow corridors, located some distance from the major conurbations where the energy was needed. In this year’s manifesto for the Assembly elections we put planning for energy developments and the centre of our call for a completely refreshed and renewed planning system in Wales.

Secondly, I wanted to listen and represent the views of the numerous protesters as their regional AM. This is one area where being a regional AM perhaps gives an advantage over our constituency colleagues. The event itself had the feeling of being an aftershock from the Lib Dems losing Maldwyn to the Tories - partly on the back of vigorous Tory campaigning on this issue and the usual fence-sitting by the Lib Dem candidate - but at the protest were residents from Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire also.

Thirdly, it was an opportunity to emphasise once again that these planning decisions are taken by others, and mostly outside Wales. The major pylon and windfarm developments are retained by Westminster government and Plaid is committed to getting these powers devolved.

It was sad to see so many placards denigrating “the Assembly”, when the decisions affecting these communities are actually made by the Welsh Government (in setting policy), Westminster government (in approving infrastructure plans – currently farmed out, partially at least, to the IPC) and their own local council (Powys on the location of the electricity sub-stations). I urged the crowd to take their fight and views to these bodies also, and judging by their response, they will!

I believe the protesters achieved something today however. They have almost certainly ensured that those proposing these plans will need to rethink about the location of sub-stations and the balance between carrying power cables by pylons and burying them in some locations. Some were there to stop all windfarm developments in mid Wales. As we both fight climate change and seek to make Wales more sustainable economically, a landscape and seascape that excludes all renewable energy projects is a vision I do not share.