According to the BBC today, industrialists believe that, to use a pun, WAG's promises on green jobs is simply hot air.In evidence to the Enterprise and Learning Committee, the commercial manager of Eco2 - a leading Welsh supplier of renewable energy - said that Wales has missed out on the chance to create manufacturing jobs in green energy, especially wind and wave power.
Of course, a WAG 'spokesperson' responded directly by saying that it was committed to "making Wales a leading provider of green energy" and that "the growth of the 'green' technology and services has been rapid over the past five years - the sector is already estimated to be worth 9 per cent of Welsh GDP".
Really?
That means that this sector is now worth around £4.2 billion to the Welsh economy?
Where is the evidence for this?
This data would suggest that the 'green sector' is now larger than most other sectors in the Welsh economy and is over twice the size of the financial services sector.
So where are the green equivalents of Admiral PLC, Legal and General and the Principality Building Society?
I don't know where WAG's 'spokespeople' gets their facts from but they really need to stop being so defensive all the time and stretching statistical data to try and prove a point as it undermines the credibility of the Assembly Government.
The warning from Eco2 was a heartfelt one from a person who wants the industry to succeed. Rather than hiding behind a wall of rebuttal, perhaps they can be more positive and come out with clear statements that they will support the development of the green industry in the future.
After all, as I pointed out here and here, the future is green and WAG must do everything in its power to support a viable cleantech sector in Wales. End of.
Comments
The Welsh Government is hamstrung on green jobs as it is on every economic issue.
Plaid went into the last election wanting to have a 50 per cent rate for those earning £50k or more.
Is that what we would expect from an independent Wales?
Jeff, I am fully confident that Wales is in fact capitalising from offshore wind seeing as two major developments are planned there. And whilst these are not devolved (larger than 50MW), there has been demonstration of tidal stream turbines off Ynys Mon which hopefully will be of commercial importance.
Why you mention independence I have no idea. You brought it up out of nowhere. It's odd, and smacks of you being on the defensive.
I didn't blame any party for the economic crisis or for public spending, i'm simply stating the contradiction at the heart of centre-right politics, that they want spending to be cut back (as is a reality) but also want new spending on a whole shopping list of things such as nuclear power, to use a very expensive example. It's sad that you lampoon smaller nations. It doesn't make your argument stronger.
Jeff, when I make that call to the finance ministers in Ireland and Latvia who live as you say in the 'real world', shall I also ask them if they want to maybe give their sovereignty back to the United Kingdom and to Russia? No, thought not.
And before you start saying we haven't got the funds to do this because we are not an independent nation etc., we have had over £3.5 billion of European funding since 2000.
Don't you think a substantial amount of that could and should have been used to develop the cleantech industry - I do – but unfortunately, those in power in Wales don’t. For example, back in 2002, I argued that Objective 1 funding should be used to develop an environmental science park at Glyn Rhonwy in Llanberis which would not take advantage of the location, but would, because of Bangor University's expertise in the area, be a magnet for green companies from around the World.
However, no-one was interested because local politicians, mainly from Plaid, wanted a ski slope instead!
As for nuclear power, we could have a long debate on this topic but I have made my thoughts clear on this elsewhere in this blog.
However, it worth noting that a BBC report last week on the new offshore developments showed that per megawatt of stored energy capacity, a gas powered station costs £1m to build, a nuclear power station costs £3m and a wind farm costs £3m.
Of course, offshore farms are weather dependent. Whereas a nuclear power station operates all the time, a wind farm only operates when the wind is blowing.
So, if you ask me, the future will be a mixture of nuclear and renewables, and perhaps even using one to generate the other as a rent MIT professor recently pointed out.
p.s. it isn't only the Conservative Party which wants nuclear power - as I recollect, the leader of Plaid also wants a nuclear power station in Anglesey.
Perhaps, you should take up your concerns directly with him :)
I don't buy Jeff Jones' point that "fantasy world nationalists" like myself are living in some kind of economic dream land, or ruling out the possibility of cuts.
I simply think a progressive tax on the banking sector, would help get the public on board with the agenda that the Tories and Labour will be pushing through with public spending cutbacks. This isn't some kind of far-left statement, a tax equal to that announced today by Obama would be sufficient. I do not see the Tories making any such commitment.