The Welsh Conservatives’ Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Energy and Rural Affairs – Janet Finch-Saunders MS – has today (27 August) urged the Welsh Government to look at ‘slashing the red tape’ that is preventing Welsh farmers from undertaking innovative hydro projects on their land.

Experts say that hydroelectricity can be an effective source of power without large reservoirs and damns. As the technology is often specially tailored to each project, officials say that its use should be considered more widely on lowland as well as upland farms.

Commenting on her intervention, Janet said:

“Many farmers, as custodians of our natural environment, are looking to build on their relationship with the land by undertaking innovative hydro projects that has the potential to revolutionise a farmyard’s income and stabalise the industry’s future prospects.

“These projects also often have the potential to manage growing agronomic risks. This is important as increasingly unpredictable weather, as a result of global climate change, has merely added to market volatility in recent years.

“However, whilst the rhetoric emanating from Cardiff Bay is well-meaning, the actions of the Welsh Government have been to only construct barriers of red tape, whereby preventing a farmer’s journey towards an environmentally sustainable and conscious business.

“Whilst hydro is far from a straightforward technology, it has great potential for the right rural sites in Wales. I urge the Welsh Government to review the bureaucratic barriers which currently prevent many farmers from undertaking such projects, due to legitimate concerns over the potential legal and planning costs that would be incurred.”

ENDS