Wind farm will be built after Tory wrecking effort defeated
The Scarweather Sands offshore windfarm will now be built after the proposed project scaled its last remaining hurdle in the Welsh Assembly. Assembly Members today blocked an effort by Tories to have a decision by the Assembly planning committee overturned. Opponents of the clean energy project have now run out of options to defeat the proposal.
Speaking outside the Assembly in Cardiff, Sarah Shoraka of Greenpeace said: "This decision is brilliant news for the environment and brilliant news for the many people in Swansea Bay who always wanted to see this clean energy development built. Polls show Wales is overwhelmingly in favour of offshore wind farms, and with global warming ruining more and more lives Swansea Bay can be proud of the contribution it will now make to fighting climate change."
In an independent poll carried out by ICM Research and released last month, more than 80% of respondents in Wales said they supported offshore wind farms. Almost 9,000 supportive letters and e-postcards were sent to the Welsh Assembly.
The windfarm will also prove to be a boon to the local tourist industry. In a survey carried out last summer, 96% of visitors questioned said they were more likely or just as likely to return to the Swansea Bay resort of Porthcawl if the turbines go up.
Lying three miles off the coast of Porthcawl, the Scarweather Sands wind farm will produce enough electricity to supply 80,000 homes - equivalent to a town the size of Swansea.
For more information, contact the Greenpeace press office on 07801 212 967.
