Energy/Alternative Energy Blog 1: Wind Farms in Cardiff, Wales

Plans are underway in Cardiff, Wales, UK for a wind energy plan that could bring £2.3 billion to their economy.  The wind farm would bring 2,000 jobs to the area, mostly in manufacturing and construction.  This advancement in wind energy was commissioned by RenewableUK and hopes to generate 2,000 megawatts of electricity from on shore wind turbines by 2025.  However, the plan is moving slowly due to landscape constraints and complaints from citizens who are worried about the impact on roads, landscapes, and their local communities.

 Citizens aren’t the only ones who are making the process more complicated.  According to Gareth Clubb of Friends of the Earth Cymru, the Welsh government is providing little support for wind farms and investors are likely to move elsewhere, such as Scotland, even though, as stated by David Clubb, it could provide substantial economic benefits and help Wales become a more sustainable nation.

Along with this it seems that those in charge of the wind energy plans aren’t as prepared as they should be as they couldn’t provide accurate figures on how many turbines would be needed or exactly how much each would generate.  However, Llywelyn Rhys, deputy directory of RenwableUK Cymru says that investors must have confidence in the planning stage of creating a wind farm.

Upon reading this article it seemed apparent that alternative energy is still a controversial subject in many areas.  In Wales this is shown through skeptical investors, worried citizens, and governments unwilling to provide support.  While these wind farms will provide substantial employment opportunities that are more than needed in many struggling economies of the area, the need for more jobs seems to be outweighed by the possible effects on landscape and community.  It could be that the problem here is a lack of education in the public.  If the citizens of Wales were more informed on the benefits of alternative energy and how it could help cut down on the negative impacts we are currently creating in our environment they would have a more open mind on the subject. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-21248522