Swansea Lagoon rejection leaves way clear for better-value Marine Energy

Friends of the Earth Barry&Vale say the huge cost of power from the Swansea Lagoon has long been clear.  It was not acceptable as “pathfinder” for a second larger lagoon off Cardiff, which has strong wildlife, fish and navigation impacts.  The government should have decided long ago, so to clear the way for other marine energy projects. Tidal stream and wave-power projects have been unable to proceed, when Welsh politicians focus all on the dodgy lagoon.

Our FoE group belongs to the Marinet network of coastal environmental groups, who are strongly supportive of renewable energy from the sea.  We were critical of the Swansea Lagoon proposal 5 years ago and agreed in January 2017 that the economics condemned it: “it would be folly for the Government to agree to progress the Swansea Bay project further”.

The Hendry report on power from tidal lagoons had a major problem. Power generation around high or low tide is interspersed with slack mid-tide periods  Charles Hendry still ignores how to fill in the gaps (W Mail, 10th May).

Hendry accepted TPL's claim that a series of lagoons around the coast would combine to give near steady generation. But their second lagoon at Cardiff would be in phase with Swansea and assessment of other lagoon sites (north Wales, Humber etc.) shows substantial gaps remain.  A related issue is the variation between spring tides and neap tides produces seasonable variations that are out of sync with demand.  

The Swansea lagoon on its own is not a 'pathfinder'.  It needs additions to fill in the gaps. The National Grid does not want gappy power.  Fossil-fuelled power plants to fill the gaps would be high cost and high in CO2.  Hendry did not consider the economics of such an overall system.

Alternatives of pumping to increase the peak and deliver on demand, or combination with a second 'storage' lagoon have been proposed.  Or modern high-power storage systems using batteries or fuel cells could be an option.  

These mean that the simple lagoon cannot be Hendry's "pathfinder" project; only a lagoon in combination with gap-filling generation could be that. That requires reconsideration of the whole design and assessment of upcoming technology.

Nor can it be a pathfinder to the much bigger Cardiff lagoon off the Penarth headland as TPL want [see separate button at top of this Page] .  Friends of the Earth argue as do RSPB (W.Mail 10 May) that the conservation designations make that location problematic.  TPL have no way to create bird feeding grounds in mitigation of those their scheme would destroy.  The same stumbling block helped sink the Severn tidal barrage from Lavernock to Weston-super-Mare.

Yet the company demanded a commitment to public funding for 90 years with huge subsidy - twice that for gappy power from off-shore wind which is for 6 times less (15 years only).  It requires the National Grid to cope with the system problems of its gappy power, a further hidden public subsidy.  Hendry's two-year old report was no basis for the public taking on these liabilities, or for Carwyn Jones's offer of Welsh subsidies on top. 

The scheme would have severely changed tidal currents and flows throughout the Swansea Bay, as angler groups have emphasised.  The picture shows a typical calculation of changes, with major new currents in and out of the turbine wall to the south-west of the lagoon structure. Swansea Bay beaches become a backwater, instead of swept by the general east-to-west circulation.  Would mud deposits replace the sand?  It's unknown.

Compare the progress with tidal power in Scotland:  a 6MW tidal array in the Pentland Firth entered its 25 year operational phase in April, a major milestone for the  MayGen project.

Its owner, Atlantis Resources, bought up the Welsh tidal current scheme for the Anglesey Skerries .  This has planning consents, but was put on hold pending the Pentland Firth scheme.  The company offers well below the Hinkley price (£75/MWh; 40% of the Swansea lagoon) for its follow-up tidal project, but is looking to France rather than Wales.  Atlantis also plan a ‘pathfinder’ tidal barrage project, but in the river Wyre rather than the Severn, half the capacity of the Swansea Lagoon for a sixth of the price.   

Wales has missed out by politicians concentrating on the Lagoon.  FM Carwyn Jones gaily offered £100 or £200 million towards it, but nothing to attract Atlantis back to Wales.

The PrivateEye exposure of the "Shorrock Horror" from the Commons hearing is here:

Revert to Separated Recycling in the Vale, at last!

The Vale Council has consulted on limiting black-bag numbers to two per household, but the change to the waste collection system is much more significant.

   Their switch to co-mingled recycling in 2011 is now shown wrong.  Waste Officer Cliff Parish knew then about future legislation on separate collection - deadline January 2015 - but he was coming up to retirement and left the problem for others.   Now the Vale has to comply with the TEEP legislation to qualify for Welsh Government grants needed for the intended re-cycling centre on the Atlantic Trading Estate. 

10. It was always known that the legislative revisions would have an impact on the Council's kerbside collection methods and that it was likely that the Council would have to revert to its previous pre 2011 collection system of source separated recycling and adopt the WG’s ‘Collections Blueprint’ methodology.… the collection of recycling from households via kerbside sort to ensure compliance to the revisions of the WFD and to ensure high rates of high quality recycling, cost savings and improved sustainable development outcomes.

  The present co-mingled collection breaks up glass and contaminates paper and plastics with glass shards. Merthyr Council uses separate collection and is able to sell its paper to UK re-processors whereas most of the Vale's waste paper is contaminated (by glass) and sent abroad.  No figures are given, but the Vale probably pays for disposal of its paper, while Merthyr gets revenue.

  The Council proposes to establish a recycling separation and bulking centre at Atlantic Trading Estate.  This recalls the proposal of Brian Mayne when Recycling Officer over a decade ago, which included a "recycling village" for companies re-processing and using some of the separated waste - real implementation of dealing with our own wastes and building a circular economy for material use.  The current proposal would save vehicle and transport costs ("a burden to the service") with most wastes going on congested roads into Cardiff.  It depends on the estimated £2.5-3 million project getting grants from the Welsh Government.
  The WRAP study annexed to the main report gives some details in its options analysis, that we have to pay £60 per tonne to the Viridor incinerator (Welsh govt pays £20/t on top) and almost as much for using Lamby Way to separate co-mingled recyclables.  The Vale pays them £34/t to take garden waste (compare £25/t on farm in the Vale) and £44/t to take food waste (figures from 2016).  The drop in residual (back-bag) waste from the new limit is estimated as about 20%, with people recycling more and disposing of their own rubble.

Contaminated Hinkley mud to hit beaches at Penarth and Barry

The regulator "Natural Resources Wales" announced 6th June that conditions on the license are now complete for dumping 300 000 tonnes of contaminated sludge in the Estuary off Penarth Head.

The license but not the monitoring is at

http://www.naturalresources.wales/CardiffGroundsSedimentDisposal  (= https://t.co/f8WHxV0WlI)

Further questions may be put to NRW via marinelicensing@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk

This is Barry&Vale FoE's new publicity leaflet on the issues.

** Why call it "Hinkley's mud".  It's not 'nuclear sludge' from inside the reactor, not mud from the nuclear operations, but estuary mud that picked up radioactive elements from the plant's liquid discharges (with microparticle 'dirt'). While these discharges were licensed at the time, limits were not necessarily enforced and current permits are stricter. What's in the mud is largely unknown; the few samples taken of 'historical' mud in 2009 at a few metres below the seabed show elevated levels of uranium and radium.  Those samples have been lost so cannot be re-tested.  There may be plutonium, since its production was a major purpose of Hinkley Point A station, but this was secret.

Metro-trams unacceptable on Penarth Rd thru Grangetown

Battery-driven trams welcome - but not on-street through Grangetown

We welcome the choice of KeolisAmey’s battery-driven trams for the Cardiff region metro, says Max Wallis of Friends of the Earth Barry&Vale.  While they can switch to overhead power lines for some stages, on-street overhead lines are avoided, likewise on the spur to Penarth in Cardiff.

We call on the company to drop the plan of Transport for Wales to route the Penarth trams on-street through Grangetown. 

Reconstruction at Grangetown Station to get the trams between Penarth Road and the overhead rail line would be substantial. 

The trams will be caught up in the traffic jams; journey times Penarth to Cardiff would be much longer than the present 11 minutes. 

Unless battery-trams are allowed to run on the ordinary rail lines, through to Central and Queen St stations, FOE doesn’t want them on the Penarth line.  Let us keep diesel trains as on the Barry Island and Vale of Glamorgan lines, with modern rolling stock too.  We regret that those services are not to be electrified, but let’s avoid Cardiff’s hotch-potch with on-street battery-trams.

www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/huge-investment-running-billions-transform-14738004

https://penarthnews.wordpress.com/2018/06/04/keolis-amey-promises-new-trains-for-penarth-rail-commuters/

Five-Mile-Lane archaeology at 5th June Meeting

Guest speaker on the Archaeology discoveries and destruction at Five-Mile-Lane
Update of Issues:
1/ Global and Local – Extreme Thunderstorms and extensive rainfall leads to localised and widespread flooding in many countries - Global Storming. Record heat temperatures continue to be monitored worldwide, 45C in India, people dying of heat in Pakistan, 50C+ in Middle East, warmest May on record in Wales, Volcanic activity grows from Guatemala to Hawaii and Indonesia - Global Warming. Good news locally- Cleaner waters and Blue Flags. Bird life range and variety slowly increasing.
2/ Local and Global – Wylfa Nuclear Power Station gets the go ahead. Hitachi gets the nod from Westminster. Will the Chinese also get the nod at Hinkley Point? Hinkley's Nuclear Mud – We hardly need contaminated material dredged from Hinkley, to be spread over our improving coast. In a debate on May 23rd , the Minister gave the go-ahead, ignoring evidence, petitions and demonstrations. Max has produced Leaflets for distribution. The fight continues.
3/ Local - 5 Mile Lane – Ancient Woodlands and Archaeology issues and consultation begins on M4/A48 link road proposals. Archaeology Group may wish to speak to the meeting.
4/ Local – National – Swansea Lagoon and Tidal Power – it looks as if the Government are sending this Welsh project the same way as our electrified railways. It seems that Wales is not value for money when it comes to large environmentally sound investments. Doubts about the way the Tidal Lagoon project has gone ahead, including concerns given to FoE by residents across the Severn.
5/ Local and Global - DIAG and the Incinerator – Ten years on. DIAG has 8 solid objectives in their continued campaign. EIA still awaited. Further concerns for Waterfront residents have arisen. Housing Contracts – Residents have to accept oversight of polluted areas as in the Graving Dock. This was filled with polluted material from the initial Waterfront development and cannot now be built on.-
6/ We have a blog where you can acess information and contribute to campaigns/debates - https://barryvalefriendsoftheearth.blogspot.co.uk

7/ AOB:   next meeting, Tuesday July 3rd
Keith Stockdale,
Barry/Vale FoE Coordinator

Hinkley Mud debate report and video

Neil McEvoy AM speaking in the Senedd debate, 23 May 2018

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156635774327868&id=544842867

Neil was the first AM to raise the issue in the media and sat on the Petitions Committee giving consideration to the massively supported Petition calling for the dumping license to be cancelled.

Report of the Senedd debate in Penarth Daily News here

On 6th June, NRW announced they have updated the license and cleared the final condition on monitoring.

The license but not the monitoring is at

http://www.naturalresources.wales/CardiffGroundsSedimentDisposal  (= https://t.co/f8WHxV0WlI)

Further questions may be put to marinelicensing@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk

Hinkley Mud dumping -Senedd debate 23 May

The one- hour debate at the Senedd on Wednesday showed the Welsh authorities wanted to close down the issue, despite the Petitions Committee report being interim, as questions were unanswered.

                           Anne Greagsby (Barry&Vale FoE) with Welsh Anti-Nuclear Alliance's poster and 

                           new banner behind, on the Senedd steps prior to the debate 

    Various Assembly members including the Vale’s Jane Hutt and Cardiff’s Gareth Bennett voiced the concerns of constituents over ‘nuclear sludge’ being dumped on Wales, arguing that further testing of deeper samples is needed for public assurance.  Jane Hutt supported Committee member Mike Hedges’ request for review by independent academics, whom people trust more than official agencies.

   Committee chair David Rowlands biased the debate by quoting the NRW statement on radioactive substances being “no greater concentration at depth”, yet did not mention the CEFAS** data that showed the contrary - up to three times the uranium and radium at a few metres depth – as agreed by CEFAS in a new letter (30 April).  He said the Committee had written to NRW in January asking for deeper samples.  The company refused saying “not radioactive” but neither Rowlands nor the Committee appeared to challenge this obviously false statement.

   David Melding (of Penarth) regretted that the company did not respond to the request for deep samples, saying he’s open for new evidence if it’s brought forward.  Cardiff AM Neil McEvoy said the data do show radioactivity is higher at depths of material which is to be excavated, such that radioactive dose could exceed the “de minimis” level of international standards for dumping at sea.  He wanted the license suspended till further testing is done.

   Simon Thomas supported a pause for more testing, while claiming he’d ”not seen any evidence that the material is radioactive”.  How strange that Plaid’s environment spokesperson does not understand that the measured gamma radiation is, actually, radioactivity!  He spoke also about dumping material in the Welsh Severn Estuary avoids landfill tax, which would deliver £27 million if landfilled in Wales (300 000tonnes @£88.95 per tonne)

   Caroline Jones said emotionally, the south Wales coast is special, we need every action to protect our ecology.  Committee member Janet Finch-Saunders was bothered that this big company  refused to undertake deep sampling.  She said the chemical contaminants are above CEFAS Action Level-1, described by them as a “small breach”.  A breach by any name!   She proposed the Welsh government use its Marine Act powers until the chemicals’ impact on the Severn marine conservation area had been assessed.

   The Minister Hannah Blythyn in reply read a prepared speech, taking nothing on board and claiming the committee had “carried out a thorough review”.   It said the CEFAS assessment was “fully in line within international standards”, showing “no radiological risk to people and the environment”.  In fact, CEFAS ignored the international requirement introduced in 2015 for assessing radiological impact on ecosystems.  They left the chemical impacts to NRW, who had done nothing.  Carwyn’s Government again not listening.

 ** CEFAS = Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, an executive agency of the Department for Environment (England).

Friends of the Earth Barry&Vale comment: 

we were encouraged by the support of so many AMs, responding to petitions totalling around 100 000.   Our evidence was taken up by the committee, but in the end the Committee chair ignored it, choosing not to report the 3-fold increased radioactivity at depth that proved the case for further deep sampling.  He also choose not to report that NRW had not carried out an assessment of the added toxic chemicals dumped in the Severn Estuary.  We think to take these breaches of European law to the Commission (pre-Brexit!).