tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post2587623199406673220..comments2024-03-26T09:38:39.888+00:00Comments on Borthlas: Need for long term viewJohn Dixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-91536947497208472011-06-23T18:18:36.595+01:002011-06-23T18:18:36.595+01:00maen_tramgwydd
I agree entirely that Wales not be...maen_tramgwydd<br /><br />I agree entirely that Wales not benefitting from the exploitation of our renewable resources is a serious issue. And I'd also agree that if we don't get control soon, it will be too late, and as with the resources of the past, the benefit will have flowed elsewhere.<br /><br />There is a question, though, as to whether that's reason enough to oppose the exploitation of those resources in the meantime, and I don't think that question is quite so easy to answer. One of the reasons that we're not benefitting as much as we could and should be from employment in the manufacture of equipment is that Wales, and the UK, is seen as being at best lukewarm on the technologies. Those looking for a place to invest in manufacturing capacity are more likely to do so where they think that there might be a greater welcome. In that sense, there is a danger that the opposition actually makes the flow of benefit out of Wales even more likely.John Dixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-15752859585725077772011-06-23T12:01:41.096+01:002011-06-23T12:01:41.096+01:00One thing concerns me about Plaid's energy pol...One thing concerns me about Plaid's energy policy (on renewables). Wales doesn't control those resources and the income generated from them. Having a policy which centres on 'renewables' in those circumstances can lead not only to exploitation but almost an open invitation to exploitation, from which the people of Wales benefit little, if none at all.<br /><br />It's a little bit like putting the cart before the horse.<br /><br />The Scots have seen their oil exploited and 'wasted' by the UK over the last forty years. They are now waking up, rather late, to that fact. <br /><br />Plaid hasn't exploited these energy (and water) resources sufficiently electorally in its drive for self-government.maen_tramgwyddnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-37946809713300633932011-06-23T08:11:43.606+01:002011-06-23T08:11:43.606+01:00"the LPG gas pipeline from Milford to Glouces...<i>"the LPG gas pipeline from Milford to Gloucester was capacity designed to be a storage device"</i><br /><br />LNG, I think. And I don't think it's liquid any longer in the pipeline. But the basic point is a good one. <br /><br />In the days of town gas, they used to have gasholders in most towns which they filled when demand was low and emptied when demand was high. Natural Gas needs a similar storage capability.<br /><br />Many years ago, a gas engineer told me that the original (and still extant) large pipeline across South Wales had been designed and built after planning permission was refused for large new tanks. The phrase he used was something along the lines of "they won't let us build a gas holder above ground, so we're building a long thin one underground". It's a very pragmatic response, and if we're going to continue using gas, it needs to be stored somewhere to smooth out peaks and troughs.<br /><br />The question which you raise though applies here as it does to wind and tidal energy - how do we ensure that Wales benefits from schemes whose benefits extend well beyond our borders? (And it isn't an easy question to answer, because we also benefit from some schemes outwith our own borders, and it's the total picture which we need to consider.) But, it just so happens that energy, particularly renewable energy, is going to be one of the critical factors in the future, and Wales is well-blessed with resources in that field. I'm convinced that we have to exploit them - but we also need to ensure that we benefit from them.John Dixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-54001649589527127712011-06-22T21:39:35.685+01:002011-06-22T21:39:35.685+01:00John
Excellent blog
Wales needs the long term view...John<br />Excellent blog<br />Wales needs the long term view<br />for its own future<br />England is locked into a terminal decline and is dragging us down with it<br />We can and should operate as if we were independent<br />On the energy note -- A visitor has just pointed out that the LPG gas pipeline from Milford to <br /> Gloucester was capacity designed to be a storage device more than a pipeline<br /><br />I and many others want to invest in the future of Wales but we need the vehicles to be able to do it without everything being creamed off by Westminster, The Banks and outsidersBoncathnoreply@blogger.com