Anglesey historically [post 1760]
Historically, emissions since the start of the Industrial Revolution in1760 are low due to low population and low industrial development in this mainly rural, agricultural island.
Emissions
Anglesey has a low population density and only very slight growth from 57,000 in 1851 to just over 70,000 residents now and relatively little industry; with a GVA of £13,655 it is almost at the bottom of the prosperity league for the whole of the UK so its emissions have always been, and remain, very small in the global scheme of things . Even the UK as a whole, being 8th in the league tables but is way way behind the big emitters and contributes only 1% o fglobal emissions..
Historical emissions since the start of the Industrial Revolution in1760 are therefore low. Anglesey would have been more wooded with clearance for agriculture : traditionally the island was described as ‘Mam Cymru’ because of its food production so emissions associated with woodland clearance and low intensity agriculture [that was organic by default, predating fertilisers and pesticides] would be the main ones. There was a small coal mining activity in what is now Cors Ddyga but the coal was of very low quality and not used beyond the immediate area. The major extractive industry at Parys Mountain – the copper mines – imported coal to roast the ore, but little or no smelting took place. In fact emissions associated with the mine would have been primary sulphur dioxide from roasting the ores which has a marked cooling effect on climate!
Today major industry is mainly restricted to the Llangefni area. Holyhead used to have an aluminium smelter until it closed down in 2009, but it was mainly powered by electricity generated at Wylfa nuclear power station which itself closed in 2015. The smelter was supplied with electricity by a complex agreement with Wylfa and Dinorwic and so the operation of both it and power generation were virtually carbon free.
Mitigation – Anglesey’s renewable power generation
Anglesey has three wind farms on land. 34 wind turbines at Llyn Alaw have a capacity of 20.4 MW and can produce an average 60,000 kilowatt hours each year, enough to provide electricity for 14,000 homes and prevent about 43,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year. Trysglwyn has 14 turbines and an installed capacity of 5.6 MW, avoiding 12.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. Rhyd y Groes has 24 turbines and an installed capacity of 7.2.
There are three operational offshore wind farms off the North Wales coast: Gwynt y Mor, Rhyl Flats and North Hoyle as well as transmission cables from nearby developments. Gwynt y Môr is a 576MW offshore wind farm located 14km off the north Wales coast, completed in 2015. It will produce 1,950GWh of clean energy a year, which will be enough to power 400,000 households, equivalent to cutting 1.7 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions a year. The smaller Rhyl Flats is 90MW.
However, the Welsh Government consulting on its draft National Development Framework (NDF) suggests designating a large swathe of Anglesey as suitable for very large wind turbines but this has been vigorously opposed by both the Council and local residents though plans to further develop offshore wind are supported by the Council.
We reported on plans to develop solar farms on Anglesey which have again attracted opposition from local residents but if all went ahead could generate over 500MW. Recently research elsewhere has suggested farmers incomes from agriculture alone can be boosted by having solar panels on their land – in addition to the income from the panels! The land used for a solar farm creates a safe place where nature and wildlife can flourish. The ground beneath the solar panels can also be used to graze animals or grow grass and wildflowers creating a boost for biodiversity .
There were plans to install tidal flow turbines near The Skerries off the north coast and for a major biomass plant on Holy Island (Ynys Gybi). Developing such low-carbon-energy assets to their full potential forms part of the Anglesey Energy Island project.
A planning enquiry ended recently on the Morlais ‘demonstration’ site off the coast by South Stack where a range of wave and tidal energy generating devices are planned to be installed.
