I have campaigned on the issue of onshore windfarms throughout my tenure as MP for Brecon and Radnorshire.
Whilst I recognise the importance of promoting the UK's energy security, I do not believe that building obtrusive 220-metre-high wind turbine structures and accompanying pylons across our unspoilt countryside in beauty spots such as the Radnor Forest is the answer.
Onshore wind is the go-to option because it’s cheap. But our countryside isn’t. Nor is our environment, our quality of life and our rural economy. There are a multitude of other options, and I have consistently made the case to the Welsh Government, which is ultimately responsible for this area of policy, and others including Bute Energy with whom I am in contact, to recognise the strength of feeling on this matter and consider alternative solutions.
Bute Energy’s most recent consultation has not allayed these deep concerns, nor indeed the deep concerns of my constituents, over 400 of whom joined me earlier in the year at a meeting in Llanelwedd, and more recently during the Whitsun recess in which we had pubs packed out with concerned constituents.
My team regularly run these surgeries, so please do get in touch if you would like to attend the next one.
