Thursday
Aug272015
by 
Bishop Hill
Bishop Hill Carwyn's car crash
Aug 27, 2015 Climate: Parliament Energy: wind ;)
The renewable energy sector is of vital importance to North Wales, [which] is becoming a powerhouse for renewable energy.
Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones, December 2014
[W]e’ve been saying for a long time, as have Tata, energy costs in the UK are too high.
“When compared to other countries, even in Europe, it’s very difficult for our industries to use a lot of energy to actually be competitive.
Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones, today
Wales has to move to a green economy as fast as possible, says First Minister Carwyn Jones...Mr Jones told a renewable energy conference in Cardiff that he had taken personal responsibility for energy policy within the Welsh government.
BBC News report, 2011
Reader Comments (29)
But this is good news if it comes true. Feed-in tariff future in doubt as government moves to slash renewable energy incentives
See also Consultation on a review of the Feed-in Tariffs scheme
£168/MWh is such good value in Swansea Bay, don't you think? You'll know the Welsh are serious when they start to think about fracking in the Valleys.
But think of all those 'green jobs' crated in NGO , government adviser etc , of course no use at all to the poor sods that have just lost their jobs , but they do make politicians feel better.
Meanwhile India and China laugh themselves silly.
[Snip - raise the tone please]
From the same copybook, here's Scottish energy minister, Fergus Ewing, 2007,
"Wind farms have, however, a very heavy environmental footprint not only blotting the landscape in places such as Dava which has huge beauty and Lochindorb which is of considerable historic interest, but also in the release of substantial quantities of methane from peat landscapes such as that proposed by the Eurus wind farm at Glenkirk.”
and Fergus Ewing, 2015,
"The Muaitheabhal extension will see extra capacity added to the existing plans and both developments will play an important part in helping Scotland reach its target of the equivalent of 100 per cent of electricity demand coming from renewables by 2020.
"Crucially, I am pleased to see local communities profiting from Scotland's vast natural resources through community benefit agreements that will keep money in our communities."
Clearly, you CAN make it up...
^^ Above comment was re Stern thread but still broadly relevant.
What do you expect from any politician?
Now if only Tata would tell him the costs come from the green crap. Many of his ilk believe that windmills will bring cheaper electricity and the need disabused of that notion. Too much of industry are just sitting on the fence.
The only way that 'Renewable' power can support an economy, is by using reliable power to make and sell unreliable power generating equipment and ideas, to other countries.
This must be put in context sinceTata Steel announced only yesterday that 250 well paid and highly skilled jobs will be lost at a mothballed rolling mill at Llanwern.Carwyn Jones is a realist and his background is in the old industrial heartland of south Wales. I do not see the contradiction with creating new"green jobs" in Wales and concern at losing industrial jobs. As a modern politician he has to (unfortunately) trip out the mantra on emissions, but I know that his actual vision is in keeping heavy industry going in Wales from his pronouncements in the Senedd.
Carwash Jones
When will we hear a politician say, "I am sorry, I was wrong to support the dash for renewables. I did not anticipate the fall in the price of fossil fuels, nor did I foresee the pause in global warming which suggests that there is far less urgency to reduce CO2 emissions." ?
Come off it Derek! That would mean them telling the truth, utterly unthinkable!
I think my favourite movie scene is from the Hunt for red October, with Alec Baldwin character being told by the senator character that he's a politician, which menas that he cheats & lies! Oh so true.
It all depends on an audience. A good politician always says what the present audience wants to hear. (S)he will say an exact opposite to another audience tomorrow.
"White man speak with forked tongue." --Native American assessment of politicians of all sorts
What can possibly go wrong with investing trillions , to mitigate something which might happen in 2100 but of which we see for the last 20y just the opposite effect??
ALL of the warmish predictions turn left = WRONG.
(It is the same parasiting people who told us for decennia how good it was behind the iron curtain, btw )
Most politicians have no science or mathematics backgrounds.
That's why they can hold mutually contradictory positions without being aware of any contradiction.
They will repeat without thinking any sales pitch put to them by commercial interests.
The main driving force is to be re-elected.
To do so requires them to appear to be 'statesman like' and opine on serious topics the details of which they are comletely ignorant
White man speak with knife and forked tongue; OK, stole that from the IPCRESS File
The trouble with Carwyn and Welsh Labour, is that they've seen the ascendancy of the SNP in Scotland and they are $hite scared of Plaid doing the same in Wales, however unlikely that is.
The result is that Welsh Labour are desperately trying to out-green and out-left both Plaid and the Welsh, which accounts for their idiotic flip-flopping on energy policies.
Salopian, when politicians compete with each other to be the best red or green, there are no winners, but the people always lose.
As long ago as 2005 the Welsh Assembly set a target for 7 TWh of renewable generation per annum - about 40 % higher than the per capita rate set for England. Was that Jane (plastic bag) Davidson?
Now we have the lovely Edwina Hart declaring, without any sense of contradiction, that the way forward for farmers in Wales was to embrace more renewable energy, that the way forward for the Welsh economy was for a surge in renewables growth (she said this in April this year - bless), and sees no contradiction between trying to pursue a tourist industry and a renewable industry. It's nearly as bad a mad-house as Scotland.
It looks like this will all end soon now that nasty DECC is chopping the subsidies, but not before the wind spivs have trashed the countryside of once lovely Monygomeryshire.
Anyway, who cares, the Assembly lot hardly ever leave Cardiff- perhaps once a 'parliament' just to check up on the natives. The Labour vote is cast-iron, so why should they care?
Politicians - Putting the N in cuts.
Also Wales is going to be in the news for more green embarrassment, namely the number of properties that have had cavity wall insulation installed to take advantage of government subsidy and grants, and which now are causing damp and other problems and will result in legal action and the tax-payer funding the millions for removal and refurb of properties affected. A bigger problem in the west of the country, apparently, and particularly Wales, due to the climate, which has not changed that much in the interim, and is not conducive to cavity wall insulation.
A Plaid MP was given an easy ride on the BBC today, of course, when confronted with these facts, but given Plaid's policy of following green dogma, those affected may be less forgiving.
Capell:
Unfortunately, Plaid seem to be becoming even more insane than Welsh Labour. Leanne Wood, despite wanting to oust Labour in Wales, has ruled out any coalition with the Tories on the BBC tonight. Because she claims 'the Tories lack any mandate in Wales. Trouble is that at present, Labour hold 30 Assembly seats, compared to 14 Tory and only 11 Plaid seats. So if the Tories lack any mandate in Wales, where's Plaid's?
BISH: tried to post on Unthreaded but the capcha is not working: it does not display.
I spent some time examining the smiling man with multiple teeth and a red tie in the leading photo. I think he's faking it.
I see no substantive reason why politicians, like many others, be compelled to personally maintain suitable indemnity insurance. They'll have the necessary 'cover' when they're held personally responsible in class actions for the decisions they make.
Harry passfield
I have the same problem I get the message "Invalid site key"
Mendacious or an idiot?
- although it looks like an assertive tick in both boxes.
I somehow doubt the majority of people of Wales even know his name....
Can't post this on unthreaded as Captcha isn't working for me.
David, this might be helpful in sorting out the Nobel award issue.
http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/nobel/Nobel_statement_final.pdf
See 4th paragraph.
It was part of my evidence to Plymouth University re.Camille Parmesan. She was on the website as a "Nobel Prize winner" but they willingly changed it to 'contributor'.
https://www1.plymouth.ac.uk/150/highlights/lectures/Pages/Camille-Parmesan.aspx
Cheers David