By Carolyn Thomas

MS for North Wales

This week, following a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, I raised my concerns in the Senedd about the recent announcement that the greenwashing cross-border HyNet proposal will be going ahead, piping carbon dioxide from Stanlow in the North West of England across Flintshire to be stored off the North Wales cost.

I asked how the Health & Safety Executive and Natural Resources Wales intend to ensure the carbon dioxide is safely transported, as well as how the underground pipes are going to be monitored for any ruptures or leakage, issues which have plagued carbon capture projects elsewhere in the world. The Health and Safety Executive themselves have said that the behaviour of carbon dioxide is still relatively unknown.

I also requested that local communities across Flintshire which are going to be impacted by the development are properly compensated. I am aware of one local community council being offered just £3,000 in compensation for piping through a play area – this wouldn’t even be enough to pay for one piece of play equipment.

In response, the Cabinet Secretary acknowledged my strongly held views on the proposal, and spoke about visiting Heidelberg Materials at Padeswood, an example of a heavy industry company who are seeking to build a new plant to capture carbon dioxide from their production of cement.

I am deeply concerned that the more plausible use of carbon capture for heavy industries such as cement is being used as a smokescreen to allow fossil fuel companies to also use carbon capture infrastructure to continue extracting planet-wrecking fossil fuels.

Over the course of the last few years, I have met with, and listened to, academics, scientists, environmentalists, campaign groups, and engineers, all of whom have raised serious concerns with these carbon capture proposals. It is vitally important that the decision makers also listen to these concerns, not just to the sales-pitch of the fossil fuel companies who are backing HyNet.

Job creation is often advanced as a selling point by those who support these plans, but there are question marks over the sustainability of these jobs given the poor track record of the carbon capture industry. In addition, here in North Wales, we have lots of vital job vacancies which cannot be filled in health, dentistry, planning, and education for example. Many local businesses are also struggling to fill vacancies.

The £20bn being spent on carbon capture should instead be invested in building low carbon social housing, funding grants to insulate homes, providing solar panels and battery storage to reduce energy bills, and expanding renewable energy provision. We also require investment in the National Grid, as we currently have solar farms that cannot connect for at least 15 to 20 years, such as the large one being built in Bretton which cannot connect until 2038.