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00:00Like other colleagues, I wish to voice and relay some of the concerns of many of my constituents
00:05across Ceredigion about the proposed new pylon line, which my hon. Friend the Member for
00:09Clwyddyn Neath referred to in his remarks.
00:13I do so by wanting to emphasise that the communities raising these concerns are communities that
00:19are not blind to the effort and the urgent need to address climate change and the efforts
00:24to decarbonise our economy.
00:25Indeed, the Welsh Government's Energy Generation in Wales report for 2022, which was published
00:31last October, details the equivalent percentage of local electricity consumption met by local
00:37renewable electricity generation for each county in Wales.
00:40For Ceredigion, 118% of our local electricity consumption in 2022 was met by local renewable
00:47electricity generation.
00:48So, Mrs Latham, the communities voicing concerns about the impact of new pylon infrastructure
00:53on the environment, on the potential devaluation of their properties, are not doing so from
00:59a point of ignorance or denying the urgent need to contribute to our decarbonisation
01:05efforts.
01:06Indeed, these are communities along Ceredigion's coastline and interior valleys who have long
01:11made a contribution to these decarbonisation efforts.
01:13They are making a contribution to decarbonisation efforts and, indeed, they shall continue to
01:18make a contribution to our decarbonisation efforts to the future.
01:22However, what is at heart here is this idea of a just transition, of balancing the concerns
01:27of communities with the need for new infrastructure.
01:31Although definitions of just transition differ, my understanding of the concept is that it
01:36should seek to bring about fairer outcomes from the transition to net zero by maximising
01:42the benefits of climate action and minimising the negative impacts for communities.
01:47We have heard already, Mrs Latham, in this debate, a failure to ensure this just transition
01:51exacerbates inequalities, affects support for action to address climate change and biodiversity
01:56loss and leads to legal challenges and, ultimately, can impact policy implementation.
02:03This is a difficult balance to strike, or at least it was in the past.
02:06However, I am very pleased to mention to the Minister that a solution has been found that
02:09can make things a lot easier.
02:11My hon.
02:12Friend the Member for Carmarthen East and Dunedin mentioned a new technique called cable
02:15ploughing.
02:16We all agree that the national grid needs upgrading, it needs strengthening, and with
02:21urgency.
02:22However, it is disappointing that the Government has thus far failed to truly consider the
02:26benefits and advantages of cable ploughing by an innovative company that is based in
02:32my hon.
02:33Friend's constituency in Pencarder, further down the Tyvee valley from some of the communities
02:37that are impacted by this pylon line, which has been innovative in using spider ploughing
02:43machines to really advance the way in which cable ploughing techniques can install these
02:49transmission cables, and to do so by drastically reducing the cost and time taken to complete
02:55the infrastructure upgrade.
02:57I know that in the past the Government has argued that undergrounding is too expensive,
03:02but this new technique shows that it can do so much quicker, at much less cost, and also
03:08reduce the impact on the local environment.
03:11It is worth emphasising the comparison between this cable ploughing technique and the erection
03:16of pylons.
03:18One pylon company mentioned that it might take the best part of four months to install
03:25and equip a single pylon tower.
03:28Compare that to the fact that ATP, which is the company in my hon.
03:31Friend's constituency, when working on the Sea Green project, averaged 1.45km of cable
03:38installation per day, and that means opening, installing and closing it just by using one
03:43cable ploughing machine, to minimal environmental impact, such that the land was returned to
03:48the owner the following day.
03:51Cable ploughing could be a means of balancing the need for new electricity infrastructure
03:56with the importance of minimising not only financial costs but also unnecessary environmental
04:04impact and community opposition.
04:06The UK Government has repeatedly been asked to commission an up-to-date study to take
04:10into account these new techniques and the comparison of the costs with traditional pylon
04:14infrastructure.
04:15My ask to the Minister today is very simple.
04:18Could he please agree to do so?
04:20I come from the debate where I accept climate change realities, I accept the need to increase
04:25energy security, I accept the need to improve electricity distribution in our communities,
04:32especially in rural areas, and I accept the findings of the Windsor report that we are
04:35going to need a whole lot of new infrastructure to meet those challenges.
04:40I am not coming from a position of political denial.
04:44However, I am facing huge upheaval in my constituency.
04:48The reason for that is that there are now four proposed distribution and transmission
04:54routes being proposed for Carmarthenshire.
04:57In Roman times, all roads led to Rome.
05:02In west Wales, all pylons lead to Llandyfailog, and the new national-grade infrastructure
05:07that has been built in that part of the world, in the southern part of my constituency, will
05:12be joined by the new Llanelli constituency following boundary review.