(Title Image: Bridgend Council)
Funding for district heat projects
Two district heat projects in Cardiff and Bridgend county have been granted £16million from the Welsh and UK governments.
The Cardiff project will see excess heat from the Viridor waste-energy incinerator used to heat buildings in the city centre, while the Bridgend project will see public buildings in the town centre heated from a communal boiler.
Environment Minister, Lesley Griffiths (Lab, Wrexham), said: “Heat networks such as these will help home and business owners to cut their energy bills – but it will also help us to meet our goal of cutting Wales’ greenhouse gas emissions.”
Floating wind farm and Gwynt y Moor expansion projects given go-ahead by the Crown Estate
Two projects to develop a floating wind farm and a 564MW extension to the Gwynt y Môr windfarm off the northern coast have been granted permission by the Crown Estate.
The Environment Minister said, “The climate emergency means we will need much more renewable energy to meet our needs, and the Welsh government has supported the development of marine energy for many years.”
Neil McEvoy spying complaint dropped
South Wales Police have dropped an investigation into a complaint from the Senedd Commission over Neil McEvoy MS’s (Ind, South Wales Central) secret recordings of former Standards Commissioner, Sir Roderick Evans which he believes revealed potential bias and sexism.
The Commission withdrew the complaint, though no reason for the withdrawal was given. A complaint brought by Neil McEvoy himself against the former Standards Commissioner and his staff is still under investigation.
Work on Llandeilo bypass delayed until 2025
Work on a £50million bypass of Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire has been pushed back to 2025. The original timetable would have seen work start by the end of 2019 and was pushed back to 2022 earlier this year.
The Welsh Government blamed working restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic, but Plaid Cymru accused Labour of breaching a joint agreement in 2016 to construct the bypass. Adam Price MS (Plaid, Carms. E. & Dinefwr) said: “To face another delay on this project is completely unacceptable – particularly as air pollution levels are higher than the national standards, and the problem will be only be getting worse.