Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader Elfyn Llwyd MP has welcomed the decision to scrap the Severn Barrage but has criticised the ‘ConDem’ government for their failure to invest in other renewable energies in the Severn Estuary.
Mr Llwyd has repeated Plaid’s calls for powers over large scale energy projects such as this, and Welsh offshore lands of the Crown Estate, to be devolved to the National Assembly for Wales.
Mr Llwyd said:
“The Severn Barrage was always an expensive ‘silver bullet’ pushed by the Labour Party to show their supposedly green credentials.
“But while they had the opportunity to invest in smaller, sustainable and more credible renewable energy schemes in the area, such as tidal lagoons and a tidal reef which would have generated significant energy but with less environmental damage, the Labour Government failed to do so.
“The ConDem government however is following an equally unimaginative route which lacks any aspirational vision for future energy development.
“The failure to invest in renewable energy in the Severn Estuary shows why it is so important that energy powers be devolved to the National Assembly for Wales.
“In Wales, we have huge natural resources and we would prioritise the development of sustainable, renewable energy.
“The lands of the Crown Estate off the Welsh shoreline and powers to develop major energy infrastructure must also be devolved immediately to the Welsh Assembly if we are to make any realistic progress on these important issues.”
