– 7 til 9pm, Monday 9th March

- Dempseys Pub, opposite the castle

- £2 entry (to cover room hire)

Alan Gillard and Daniel Stollar from Gillard Associates, a Cardiff based firm of sustainable architects, will be presenting their ideas on community based housing and low carbon design and refurbishment.

Followed by an opportunity for questions and facilitated discussion.

The Bioenergy Action Plan for Wales aims to generate at least 5 terawatt hours of electricity, about 20% of our current needs, from renewable biomass by 2020. It also aims to have biomass provide 2.5 terawatt hours of usable heat energy, about 3% of our current needs. This will result in a reduction of about 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year in comparison with generation based on fossil fuels. It will also create new jobs.

Biomass is organic material that can be used to create renewable energy. This includes plants, trees and vegetations, as well as sewage and animal waste. Biomass is ‘carbon neutral’, in that the amount of carbon it absorbs while growing is the same as the amount it produces when burned. The Assembly Government wants to ensure that biomass is obtained from sustainable sources, whether these are in the UK or overseas, and take into account the carbon emissions associated with growing, harvesting, processing and treating it.

A Participants Day has been held to brief companies interested in tendering for the joint project between Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Councils.

The project, named Tomorrow’s Valley/Cwm Yfory, will find the most attractive and affordable solution to manage waste in a sustainable manner. It will involve the creation of a new unit to treat food waste and the remaining waste left after recycling with Bryn Pica earmarked as a potential location for this project.

This will greatly reduce the amount of waste landfilled by both authorities and once again illustrates a firm commitment to increase the quantity of recycling and to improve the environment for the benefit of all its residents and visitors.

Without such schemes, local authorities may fail to reach stringent Welsh Assembly Government targets to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. Failure to meet these targets will result in massive monetary fines emanating from Europe

Six shortlisted companies were invited to the Participants Day in Cyfarthfa Castle, Merthyr Tydfil and representatives from Biffa, Biogen/Greenfinch, Bioganix, Shanks, TEG and Waste Recycling Group and were given clarification of the procurement process currently ongoing.

The event was introduced by Keith Griffiths, the Chief Executive of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council who explained: “The fundamental aim is to move both our councils further down the road to identifying the partners and best solution for the treatment of our residual and food waste.

“I think I should highlight that this is the biggest contract our two councils have entered into, and we are expecting a high quality, imaginative response.”

The Commission’s report, Tidal Power in the UK, draws on extensive research and public and stakeholder engagement to reach the conclusion that, the UK’s outstanding tidal resources could provide at least 10% of the country’s electricity through a combination of technologies. A Severn barrage alone could potentially supply just under 5%.

However, the report insists that commitment to public leadership and ownership of the project is the only way to ensure the public gets a fair share of the rewards and to avoid short-termist decisions. It also asserts that a publicly-led project is the only way of ensuring that the network of estuary habitats protected by European law is not compromised as a result of a Severn barrage.

Sustainable Development Commission conditions for a Severn Barrage:

• A Severn barrage must be publicly led as a project and publicly owned as an asset to avoid short-termist decisions and ensure the long-term public interest

• Full compliance with European Directives on habitats is vital, as is a long-term commitment to creating compensatory habitats on an unprecedented scale

• Development of a Severn Barrage must not divert Government attention away from much wider action on climate change

Jonathon Porritt, Chair of the Sustainable Development Commission, said:

“The enormous potential for a Severn barrage to help reduce our carbon emissions and improve energy security needs to be balanced against the impact on the estuary’s unique habitat, as well as its communities and businesses. This is why we believe that any development must be publicly-led as a project and publicly-owned as an asset, in order to ensure that the Government takes full responsibility for taking a sustainable, long-term approach.”

The report also highlights the fact that the lower rate of interest available to a Government-led project would provide the only realistic way of financing a large-scale compensatory habitat package, as well as providing electricity to consumers at a competitive price.

“The Sustainable Development Commission is issuing a challenge to Government to embrace a new way of managing this major project,” said Porritt. “We are excited about the contribution a Severn Barrage could make to a more sustainable future, but not at any cost.

“It is vitally important that all parts of Government – including the Welsh Assembly Government and the South West Regional Development Agency – are actively involved in the project, to ensure that work is fully integrated into regional economic and development plans.”

The Commission also warns that the development of major tidal power resources should not be seen as a licence to ignore the need for dramatic reductions in our energy consumption, increased energy efficiency, and the wider decarbonisation of our energy supplies.

A barrage would be only one part of a major long-term sustainable energy strategy for reducing carbon emissions. Reviewing the different types of tidal technology, the report asserts that the way is open for the UK to exploit all some or all of its rich tidal resources for tidal barrages, tidal lagoons or tidal stream devices.

Tidal stream technologies

Emerging tidal stream technologies present exciting opportunities for low carbon energy production, and the report cites potentially huge rewards in terms of export potential from developing this technology. The Commission concludes that Government should ‘stay the course’ to make tidal stream technology a viable proposition, whilst putting in place a robust regulatory framework and supporting the research required to understand potential environmental impacts.

Tidal lagoons

The report concludes that there are few direct conflicts between tidal barrages and tidal lagoons, with the exception of claims made for large scale lagoon development in the Severn Estuary. Although there is little authoritative evidence available on tidal lagoon technology, which proposes using hydropower turbines in an offshore impoundment, lagoons could potentially be developed in a number of shallow coastal areas with sufficient tidal range. The Commission would like to see the Government investigating their long-term potential by funding a demonstration project. This would allow a full evaluation of the costs and the potential environmental impacts.

Download the report Turning the Tide, Tidal Power in the UK here

It uses liquid nitrogen to freeze tyres until brittle, then smashes them into tiny pieces for use as sports pitches and rubber flooring.

The plant, which is creating 25 jobs, is said by the company to be among the most advanced of its kind in the world.

The owners claim it already has contracts in place to sell 90% of the plant’s “crumb” product.

Mark Wyatt, of TyreGenics UK, said the volume of tyres being recycled was the equivalent of all the tyres produced in Wales annually.

- Full story on the BBC’s online news website

Source – SOS (Save our Seeds)