ISSUE 4

TAKE THE POWER BACK

Delegates from all over the country came together at theNunsmere Hall Hotel in Cheshire on 13th September to attendthe Wind Farm Conference – England and Wales and after anintense day of listening to experts on such subjects as planning,government policy and economics and taking part in twodebates they came away with a blueprint for future action.

Chaired by the noted barrister and former Montgomeryshire M.P.Lord Carlile of Berriew the debate began with a letter of supportfrom Sir John Banham and was followed by Emeritus ProfessorMichael Laughton, FREng who laid out the inefficiency and totalinadequacy of wind power as a major source of energy. The Rt Rev.John Oliver followed with suggestions for alternative forms of energyand the idea of a 'smart grid' to serve local communities. Dr. JohnConstable, Director of the Renewable Energy Foundation whichpublishes data and analysis on the energy sector, showed that theGovernment's renewable energy targets were not feasible andunaffordable whilst Sasha White, one of the country's leadingPlanning Barristers, left the conference in no doubt that the wayforward was to change the government's policy on renewable energy.Summing up, Lord Carlile said that "the answer lies in your handsby working together on a cogent and well planned campaign."Delegates from Welsh counties and Shropshire were joined bydelegates from Birmingham, Cheshire, County Durham, Devon,Lancashire, London, Northumberland, Rutland, Staffordshire andYorkshire and, at the end of the day, all were in agreement to takethe campaign to another level by going national.

TAKE THE POWER BACK

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Mid­Wales and Marches Campaigning for Friendly Energy SolutionsOCTOBER 2011

Important dates for your diary

NATIONAL WIND ENERGY CONFERENCE

"Are our currentrenewable energypolicies and thelocalism agendacompatible or inconflict?"

A Farmer's PerspectiveMr. & Mrs. Harrison, who own a farm inCarmarthenshire, came forward toanswer a series of questions put by LordCarlile. They, together with eight otherlandowners,had leasedtheir land toa wind farmcompany in2003.The Harrisons have suffered whatJennifer Harrison says is no less than'the rape of the farm'. The fight withthe wind farm company, which cannotbe named because of on­going legalissues, has so far landed them with abill of £37,776.03 from the High Court.Havoc caused by an Access Track anda single turbine, the erection of whichand its on­going maintenance hasruined their lives.

TAKE THE POWER BACK

The Secretary of State for Wales, theRt Hon Cheryl Gillan MP, in her firstpublic pronouncement on the sitingof pylons and hundreds of windturbines in mid­Wales, has knockedresponsibility for the wholeimmense folly firmly back into theWelsh Assembly Government’s sideof the court. In response to a letterand briefing paper from MAP’sJonathan Wilkinson and RobertHarvey, she has written, “I am sureyou will appreciate the key role thatthe identification of Strategic SearchAreas in the 2005 revision of TAN­8plays in this issue. I continue toraise concerns with National Grid,with the Welsh Government andwith others concerned with thedecision­making for the mid­Waleswind farm developments at everyopportunity.” On large­scale windfarms she acknowledges thatthey “require the consent of the

Planning Commission at UK levelbut there is a requirement for theCommission to take into account thesteer set out in the TAN­8 guidance.”She also emphasises the “need totake into account the views of thoseliving in areas affected by newenergy developments and theimpact upon communities.”This appears flatly to contradict theassertion by Carwyn Jones, FirstMinister for Wales, back in June that“TAN­8 capacities should beregarded as upper limits and we callupon UK Government to respect thisposition when they finalise theRenewable Energy National PolicyStatement.” They can’t both be right.MAP agree with Cheryl that the keyto the whole mess is TAN­8, whichhas lured speculators to Wales on theassumption that they could exploit itsmost beautiful upland areas.

As easy as ABCF: Freedom of informationrequests. A key method for findingout the background to this sorrysituation.

G: Greenwash ­ the practice ofdeclaring that no debate is to beallowed on a subject because thisissue is environmentally friendly.Similar to doublespeak from“1984”, this allows those wanting toconcrete over our hills to describethemselves as conservationists.

H: Huhne, Chris, minister forEnvironment and Climate Change inLondon. Welcome in Montgomeryshireat any time.

I: IPC, Infrastructure PlanningCommission, an independent bodywhich examines substantialinfrastructure developments. Setup to fast track controversialdevelopments, it is still operativebut will be replaced by MIPU.

This lovely lady earns about half a million pounds ayear from Spanish windfarm developer Acciona,coming soon to a hillside near you.

Lanymynech Against PylonsAction Group (LAPAG)“High Hopes and Tall Tales” cameto Llanymynech Village Hall onthe 7th September; an excellentpresentation by Alison Davies,CUP Chair and Dr Lance Mytton.The main thrust of questions fromthe floor was on the costs for theproposed projects and who pays.It is an issue that certainly shouldbe explored in more detail, andthe shock that this would generatewould embrace many morepeople than those directly affectedby pylons, substations and windturbines.We are currently building ourLAPAG email database (nearing100). If you would like to beincluded to receive informationabout future activities pleasecontact Martin Claremartinclare@btconnect.com

Keep up the pressurePoliticians and Planning Authoritiesrespond to letters from people, sothe more of us who write to let themknow about our objections, the moreimpact our campaign will have onpolicy and planning that affects us.A small group of people from MidWales groups are preparing guidancenotes for objections to the windfarmplanning applications currently withDECC and Powys CC. A list ofrelevant points that are materialplanning considerations for each ofthe applications will be available foranyone to use by mid September.Please contact Jill Kibble atjilly.oldrectory@virgin.net for moreinformation.To object to planning applicationslisted on p 4, write to Mr StevePacker, Specialist Services Manager,Powys County Council, The Gwalia,Ithon Road, Llandrindod WellsPowys LD1 6AAsteve.packer@powys.gov.uk

For many of us, our first introduction to the madnessproposed for our county came in the form of an envelopethrough the post from National Grid. We were offered amap, or something which passed for one. Its small scaleplethora of crudely drawn lines and lack of identifiablelandmarks, proved useless as a source of information.One glaring omission was the turbines themselves because,of course, it was not in their interest for us to make the link:no turbines = no pylons. From roadshow to rally the crywent up; “I cannot make head nor tail of this map.”This is why the project “Mapping Montgomeryshire” is sovital. Drawn up by Huw Morgan, the new maps belongto the communities and tell a stark, clear story; if we donot stop it, our country will be covered in concrete andsteel. More information is needed to ensure that thesemaps are as accurate and inclusive as possible. If youwould like to volunteer, please contact huw@camlins.com

Alternative SolutionsThere are many! ­ Your monthly steps in saving energy.The subsidised generation methods such as wind power have relativelyshort life spans, whilst certain energy conservation measures may lastforever. This is where the main focus should be rather than ongenerating so called "green" or “eco” electricity and yet still be wastefulby using electric hungry light bulbs, inefficient electrical appliances, andhaving badly insulated buildings.Have you really appreciated that your electricity bills will be at least 40%more by 2020 due to the subsidies for renewables?So ... I don't like wind power, but I must do something other than rely ongas, coal, oil or nuclear … Well you can! The first and most importantstep in energy production is to cut back on what you are already using.Many of us may think we are already, but in reality we are not doing halfof what we could. Over the coming months we will be showing you howto save energy in your home and business which will save carbonemissions, maybe the planet and most certainly your money.

Campaign SuccessesTake the Power Back

Opposing the power plans is acommunity effort. Groups sprangup to defend their own areas andthe strength of this movement isits localism. The knowledge andlove of our own landscapes is thewell­spring of our strength and agreat source of ammunition.However, we need to co­ordinateour efforts and it became clear thatsome method of pooling ourresources was required. A groupwas established; “Take the PowerBack.” (TtPB), which has a formalconstitution, does not intend tousurp the role of the groups, butcan co­ordinate and shareinformation to make sure that thepoliticians and power companiesare kept on their mettle to ensure atruly green and sustainable future.

Community News

I f you h a ve e n j oye d re a d i n gth i s n e ws l e tte r, p l e a s e s h a rei t wi th som eon e el se to e n j oy.

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ISSUE 4TAKE THE POWER BACK

Produced by Take the Power Back. Editor Joy Sisley editorttpb@gmail.com, tel. 01938 590 230. Written by an enthusiastic team of volunteers.Printed by Welshpool Printing Group. Available on­line at http://www.montgomeryshireagainstpylons.org/. Distribution contact the editor.

In the Summer holidays, it’s been difficultkeeping a balance between normal jungle lifeand campaigning. However, I did enjoy aweek’s trip to Paris, during which I was ableto forget the wind farm fight for a short time.But this didn’t last, as at first glance the EiffelTower reminded me of an enormous pylon!We visited the Louvre, Moulin Rouge, SacréCœur, Concorde, Luxembourg Gardens,Notre Dame, and more. I saw the MonaLisa and was amazed by her beauty.

Wind Power Station WarsTAN8 (the story continues)Where did Garrad Hassan come from ?

So we have draft TAN8 (2005), the energy directivemasquerading as planning advice. It gives Mid Wales anindicative wind energy capacity of 800MW in 3 uplanddevelopment zones (SSAs).The 800MW figure was based on research commissionedin 2004 from Garrad Hassan. It took into account onlyNational Air Traffic controls, noise from very largeturbines and energy reductions due to other structures.GH themselves considered 800MW was virtuallyunachievable with normal planning constraints.Only ‘strengthening’ of the local electricity infrastructure,that would also give us an improved supply, wasrequired. Vast transformer sites and miles of 132KV and400KV lines strung across Montgomeryshire countrysideon massive steel pylons were never envisaged.Powys County Council acquiesced to TAN8 withmajor reservations, including:• Existing Welsh wind energy expertise ignored;• Landscape, historic and cultural character ignored;• Unacceptability of the cumulative impact of hundredsof turbines;• Unrealistic targets for a single renewable resource;• Removal of Nant y Moch as it compromised theplanned large scale Pumlumon Nature ReserveLike every other objection to the consultation, andsome 95% of the 1,700 responses were objections,Powys’s concerns were utterly ignored in formulatingthe final version of TAN8.

I was shocked on the journey to ManchesterAirport by the pylons and lines aroundEllesmere Port. The sheer ugliness of thembrought tears to my eyes and reminded mewhy I am fighting against Mid­Wales powerplans.On coming home to the beautiful unspoiltgreen hills and valleys, I realised how much Iappreciate our country and had really missedit. I intend to do my utmost to keep thisprecious landscape this way. Love Trev x

! ! ! WE NEED YOUR HELP ! ! !

This newsletter is free to everyone, but we need yourhelp with printing costs. Thanks to generous sponsorshipfrom our printers, we are able to keep prices low, but westi l l need £500 a month.

Pl ease sen d ch eq u es (payabl e to Take th e PowerB ack) to: J oy S i sl ey, E d i tor, Take th e Power B ack,S treet Farm , G eu fford d , N r. Wel sh pool , S Y2 1 9D R.Thank you for your support.

A­Z of Wind Turbine Planning ApplicationsThere are currently planning applications for anestimated total output of 1,451MW in SSAs B, C, & D,nearly 3 times the TAN8 target of 500 for these areas.Over the next few months we'll list all the planningapplications, starting with those lodged with PowysCounty Council. These are all under 50MW.Carno 3 : Amegni Renewables Ltd : 18 : 125m high:45MWCemmaes 3 : Acciona Energy UK Ltd : 12 : 115m :28MWEsgair Cwmowen : Pennant Walters Ltd : 19 : 125m :48MW

Tirgwynt : Awel Newydd Cyf : 12 : 116m : 28MWMynydd Waun Fawr : Nuon UK Ltd : 16 : : 111m :40MW

Mynydd Clogau 2 : Novera Energy : 19 : 76m : 16MW

Bryngydfa : Bryngydfa Wind Farm : 12 : ?m : 36MWWaun Garno : Acciona Energy UK Ltd : 11 : 115m :19MW

Garreg Llwyd : RES UK & Ireland Power : 23 : 125m :46MWHirddywel : Nuon UK Ltd : 9 : 125m : 27MW

And this is her husband, Deputy PrimeMinister of a government seeminglydetermined to turbinize the entire Britishlandscape. What a total co­incidence.

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