Energy Transmission Infrastructure (Carmarthenshire)

Nia Griffith Excerpts

Tuesday 19th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Jonathan Edwards]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. In areas of outstanding natural beauty, cables will have to go underground, but the Tywi valley, although extremely beautiful, is not designated as such and is therefore exempt, so that point is vital.

Carmarthenshire is known as the garden of Wales for good reason, with the Tywi valley hosting the National Botanic Garden of Wales and Aberglasney gardens, both of which are Welsh national treasures. During the public meetings I held on the issue, it was clear that only undergrounding the cables would be acceptable to those who attended.

That is the position of Carmarthenshire county council, which unanimously supported a Plaid Cymru motion:

“That Carmarthenshire County Council finds it totally unacceptable that the proposed Brechfa Forest wind farm(s) National Grid connection should be made via an overhead line supported by wooden pylons. As the Council itself has no statutory power in this matter, we ask the UK Energy Secretary to ensure that the connection cable is laid underground for its entire length”.

There is a clear precedent for undergrounding in Carmarthenshire. The Llyn Brianne hydroelectricity scheme in the north-east of my constituency was connected to the national grid via 20 miles of undergrounding in 1996.

In a one-sentence reply, the developers have stated that the cost of undergrounding is prohibitive. In this case, however, that is simply not good enough. In an answer to a parliamentary question, the Minister told me:

“In 2011, National Grid commissioned an independent study to give more clarity on the practicality, whole life costs and impacts of undergrounding and subsea cabling as alternatives to overhead lines. The Electricity Transmission Costing Study, prepared by technical experts and overseen and endorsed by the Institution of Engineering and Technology was published in January 2012… It contains estimated cost ranges for overhead lines and underground technologies.”—[Official Report, 8 July 2013; Vol. 566, c. 66W.]

[Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab)]

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that if undergrounding can be done in Powys, it can surely be done in Carmarthenshire? It could be done.

[Jonathan Edwards]

The hon. Lady makes a valid point. In Powys, the energy or transmission companies involved have decided to underground parts of the route. As the project is undertaken, I will certainly be making the case that the Tywi valley is protected in a similar manner to those areas of Powys.

That report tells us that cost ratios are volatile and that no single cost ratio comparing overhead line costs with those of another technology, such as undergrounding, adequately conveys the costs of the different technologies on a given project. The use of financial cost comparisons, rather than cost ratios, is thus recommended when making investment decisions.

However, Western Power Distribution, which has been tasked with connecting the wind farms with the national grid, has published only a simple financial cost comparison for the proposed project. It has not published any information on the lifetime costs of the project taking into consideration the installation, repairs and maintenance of the electricity cables and pylons. In its one-page underground survey summary—the only piece of information on undergrounding that has been published—Western Power Distribution states that the costs of underground cables would be £986,000 per kilometre, compared with £100,000 per kilometre for overground cables. I am sure that the Minister will share my constituents’ disappointment at not being provided with a full report that outlines a full consideration of the lifetime costs of the project for both overhead cables on pylons and undergrounding.

The National Grid, to which the electricity will be fed, launched a report in 2012 on its approach to the design and routeing of new electricity transmission lines, which outlines some of the principles that it will apply to its plans. I will quote from it because it applies directly to the communities that the proposed wooden pylons will affect:

“We also have a duty to ‘consider the desirability of preserving amenity’ when undertaking projects which includes impacts on communities, landscape and visual amenity, cultural heritage and ecological resources. To satisfy this duty, we seek to avoid areas which are nationally or internationally designated for their landscape, wildlife or cultural significance, such as National Parks.

We recognise, however, that not all sites that are valued by, and important for, the wellbeing of local communities are included in designated areas. Our approach therefore ensures that we consider all of the potential economic, environmental and social impacts of proposed projects, not just those relating to designated sites.”

National Grid is seemingly taking an holistic approach, but the regulator, Ofgem, and the regional distribution companies appear to be operating on the basis of the cheapest up-front cost.

I will briefly mention other concerns that have been raised with me. Some have raised concerns over the health of the people who live near the overground poles. Others have expressed concern about the impact on wildlife and protected species. Many have expressed the concern that as the generating capacity is developed within the Brechfa forest, the wooden poles will have to be upgraded to metal pylons like those that service the Mynydd y Betws strategic wind farm in the south of my constituency. Some of my constituents are concerned about what will happen to the poles after the 25-year life expectancy of the generating development in the Brechfa forest. Many landowners were extremely angry that the developers had accessed their land without permission. That has caused grave concern to many elderly constituents of mine. There should be strict access protocols and I hope that the Minister will impress that on Western Power Distribution.

I will conclude by quoting the greatest of Welshmen, D. J. Williams, whose love for his milltir sgwâr, the square mile of north Carmarthenshire, was unrivalled and was the basis of his patriotism:

“Os gellir dweud fod hawl ddwyfol i unrhyw beth ar y ddaear, yna gyda’r Cymry y mae’r hawl i dir Cymru, nid gydag unrhyw berson estron, pwy bynnag ydyw ef.”

That was translated by the great Welsh poet, Waldo Williams, as:

“It may be said that there is a divine right to anything on earth, the right over the land of Wales belongs to the Welsh nation, and not to any alien, whoever he be.”

As the UK Government-sponsored Silk commission considers the second part of its work into further powers for Wales, opinion polling clearly shows that the people of Wales want full control over their natural resources and the exploitation of those resources. I hope that the Minister is mindful of the sentiments that I have expressed this evening when he considers the application in due course. I am more than happy again to extend my invitation to him to visit my constituency. I am sure that he would be awestruck by the beauty of the Tywi valley and I hope that he would gain an appreciation of why preserving that purity is so important to the people of my county.

Diolch yn fawr iawn.