Letter to the Editor

   On October 21st, Wales Economy Secretary, Rebecca Evans told the Senedd debating chamber that “Wales has an onshore development pipeline  of  more than 5GW and a further 18GW through fixed and floating offshore wind.”.  I have not read of a single Senedd member who has pointed out the sheer insanity of this statement !

   The 18GW  offshore  is crazy enough ! However,  don’t they realise that 5GW onshore across Wales is 5000MW of installed wind capacity? Don’t they know what that means?

    There are three huge wind turbines next to the B4333 at Blaen Bowi, Capel Iwan, near N C Emlyn. They are 252 feet tall and their installed capacity is 1.3MW each.

Therefore, Wales would need  3846 of them !!?? The combined height of each would be 17 feet greater than Nelson’s Column on top of the Angel of the North!!?

    Another example is the current largest wind turbines on land in Wales; the 76 between Neath and Aberdare called “Pen y Cymoedd” wind farm.   They are 470 feet tall with an installed capacity of 3MW each.  So it would need 1666 of them !!    Don’t our politicians know that Wales is only 8015 square miles in area?

How on Earth do they expect to instal THOUSANDS of gigantic new wind turbines within  8015 square miles?   Are they completely without common sense regarding numbers?

  Imagine !! 3846 of the Capel Iwan machines  entails one wind turbine 252ft high on every 2 square miles of Wales……..including the streets of  Cardiff, Swansea, Merthyr, Aberystwyth, Llandudno , Wrexham , Cwmtwrch……[Upper and Lower]….. and every other town and village …..plus  on every  single Welsh farm …and every National Park !!

   One monster machine on every 2 square miles of Wales !!

     How intelligent and practical is that decision? Why has no Welsh politician pointed this out?

    Furthermore, the graph on Gridwatch.co.uk proves that none of the wind turbines  would generate anything at times…….and when they do work…they  would all be powering  England not Wales, because  Pembroke CCGT power station…only opened in 2011……more than powers Wales on its own!

    This is complete and utter innumerate, impractical MADNESS!!

    To add to the craziness ,one of those three wind turbines at Capel Iwan  burnt out in January…..and its broken blades still lie on the ground below…..generating absolute ZILCH  all year!!

I note that  Ms Eluned Morgan did not take Keir Starmer to Newcastle Emlyn to view THAT wind farm !!!!

   Yours faithfully,

   Lyn Jenkins,