EN. Energy
EN1: The most urgent and important aspects of environmental sustainability are the use and generation of energy, both in order to cut down on the emission of greenhouse gases which add to global climate change, and to reduce the use of oil and natural gas reserves which are being rapidly depleted, and are likely to rise dramatically in cost in future years. Wales Green Party members of the National Assembly will seek urgently to make the Assembly's theoretical commitment to sustainability into a meaningful reality by the adoption of a comprehensive strategy to make Wales increasingly self-sufficient in energy. In regard to the built environment, this strategy will include
a) substantial improvement of standards of insulation of the existing Welsh housing stock, with increased grant funding for such improvements where necessary and appropriate.
b) new planning guidance and building regulations requiring high standards of insulation, and maximising the use of passive solar heating, solar water heating, solar electricity generation from photo-voltaic panels and roof tiles, and electricity generation from small-scale wind turbines in all new buildings.
c) the promotion of micro-generation of electricity from photovoltaics and small-scale wind turbines in existing buildings by according 'permitted development' status for domestic installations, and the provision of loans and grants for such developments.
d) a rolling programme for the adoption of similar measures in relation to schools, local and national government offices and other publicly owned buildings throughout Wales.
EN2. Greens see increased energy efficiency as essential in combating global warming and climate change. Additionally we want to see the development of renewable energy in Wales, across the full range of renewable energy technologies as appropriate, urgently and wisely, so as to make a substantial contribution to staving off global warming and climate change.
EN3. This will also improve the self-sufficiency of Wales in terms of primary energy resources, and reduce the need to transport raw materials.
EN4. Overall, Wales generates around twice as much electricity as it consumes, with the surplus being exported to England. Electricity should be generated as close as possible to its point of use to minimise the waste of transmission losses. However, as the use of fossil fuels is phased out, Wales will have increasing need for electricity, particularly in the transport sector, and we would aim to maintain and eventually to increase Wales's overall generating capacity by harnessing our abundant renewable energy potential.
EN5. The UK Government has published a strategy for the massive development of offshore wind power. This is a much larger resource than onshore wind, with many more sites available with higher wind speeds and reduced air turbulence, which leads to greater operating efficiency. The reduced visual impact of offshore installations means that larger turbines with higher generating capacities can be used.
EN6: We reject the idea that new nuclear power capacity is either essential or desirable to combat global climate change. Green members of the National Assembly will seek to fast track decommissioning of existing nuclear facilities either ‘military' or ‘civilian' and will oppose all attempts to build new nuclear reactors in Wales, or to impose any nuclear waste dumping or nuclear-capable military installations by the UK and/or US Governments on the territory of Wales. We will seek to ensure that all the nuclear industry workers are redeployed either in decommissioning work or in the renewable energy sector and to use the current subsidies paid to the nuclear industry to enhance and expand the renewable sector.
EN7. Greens elected to the National Assembly would advocate the following:
· Adoption by the National Assembly of Contraction and Convergence as the overarching energy policy for Wales. This would reduce the mineral fuel fired generation and the use of mineral oil for transport by at least 5% of the current level each year until 2050.
· Fossil fuel-based generating sources have to be retired as new renewable energy comes on stream. Only when renewable energy is used to replace existing fossil fuel-based generation is there a saving in carbon dioxide emissions.
· Giving the maximum practicable encouragement to the development of sensitively sited offshore wind power schemes.
· Giving the maximum practicable encouragement to small-scale tidal, run-of-the-river and wave technologies (including the provision of sites for prototype development), solar thermal and photovoltaic and other renewable technologies.
· Investigation of large-scale onshore schemes at industrial and/or brownfield sites in Wales.
· Giving the maximum practicable encouragement to sensitively sited small-scale onshore wind power schemes serving small settlements and/or groups of business premises with priority given to schemes in which the local community has a share in the ownership.
· Welsh energy policy should be considered as a domestic matter, and the UK Government should be pressed to transfer all powers to plan, develop and regulate the energy sector in Wales to the National Assembly.
· Powers to approve generating schemes rated at over 50MW should be deleted from the Electricity Act and returned to the Welsh planning system."
