Leanne Wood AM today set out her vision of meeting all Wales’ energy needs through renewables by 2050 – and also developing high quality, long-term jobs on Ynys Môn to replace those in the nuclear industry.
Under her energy action plan, a new Department of Energy for Wales would be based on Ynys Môn. Funding would come to the Welsh Government from winning control of Crown Estate revenue and a fair share of nuclear decommissioning funds.
“If we have the vision, a fully renewable Wales is achievable. The power generated by solar panels in Germany last year was enough to power more than five million homes,” stressed the Plaid Cymru leadership candidate, who is tonight addressing party members in Llangefni.
The key points of the energy plan are:
- Powers to consent all electricity generation infrastructure to be transferred to the National Assembly as a matter of urgency.
- An Energy Department for Wales to be established on Ynys Mon as soon as powers are transferred.
- A presumption against any new fossil fuel power stations, and a full moratorium on new nuclear.
- The Energy Department to publish a detailed energy plan leading to a fully renewable Wales by 2050.
- Advice on the energy policy was provided to Leanne Wood by Dr Calvin Jones of the Cardiff Business School, author of ‘Wales in the Energy Crunch’.
Leanne Wood believes that renewable energy development should be brought closer to communities. And each council should be given local targets for renewable energy generation. Her Greenprint for the Valleys document highlighted the Green Valleys project in the Brecon Beacons which has shown how a renewable energy co-operative can work.
Leanne Wood rules out the development of new nuclear power stations in Wales. “Some people argue that nuclear can be part of the solution for Wales but I fully support Plaid’s opposition to any new nuclear power stations. Nuclear power is very expensive and outdated, a view shared in Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Belgium. It diverts finance from investing in renewables, and it can’t come on stream soon enough to make Wales’ rapid decarbonisation a reality.
“Perhaps most importantly, while current generations reap the benefits of relatively cheap electricity, the costs of dealing with dangerous radioactive waste will pile up on our descendants thousands of years into the future. Buy now, pay later – a nuclear ideology that’s the antithesis of sustainable development. Nuclear is unsafe, expensive and a distraction from the cheap, abundant natural energy resources we have around us.
“Politicians have a responsibility to do more than just oppose, so that is why I’m proposing alternative plans to provide jobs for our young people so they are not forced to move away for work.”
Leanne Wood says the profits from Wales’ natural resources – the seabed and the land – which currently go to the Crown Estate should be owned by the Welsh Government for the benefit of the people of Wales.
And she says the “national scandal of deaths and hardship caused by fuel poverty” must be tackled as top priority. All homes in Wales should be insulated to the maximum levels, she says.
Leanne Wood added: “Wales is blessed with some of the best renewable resources in Europe. It’s time to make the most of them, putting the people of Wales in control of the clean energy revolution – the path to real energy independence.”
Among high profile party members that have declared their support for Leanne Wood are former Plaid President Dafydd Iwan, MP Jonathan Edwards, ex- MP Adam Price. Assembly Members Bethan Jenkins and Lindsay Whittle, former Plaid chief executive Gwenllian Lansdown Davies and Allan Pritchard, the Plaid leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council, have also backed the Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales Central’s leadership bid.
Leanne Wood also received the most nominations – 14 – from constituencies and branches across Wales for her leadership bid.
Further information on Leanne’s campaign can be found on her website at www.leannewood2012.com
