I had something else planned to go out on Monday, but I’ve held it back in light of fresh information I’ve received about the activities of Bute Energy. Information that raises wider considerations.
◊
INTRODUCTION
Let me start with an apology. I’ve been writing about Bute’s activities in Wales for seven or eight years. This meant ignoring projects elsewhere, and overlooking Bute and Windward companies that had no obvious Welsh connection.
That may have been a mistake. And in view of recent events suggesting dubious links with China, no longer tenable. Dealt with on this blog.
Apology made, one company I have mentioned, one I could never make sense of, was Storagefolk Ltd. Presumably involved in . . . warehousing?
Launched 23.09.2017 Storagefolk appears to be the oldest surviving Windward-Bute company apart from Windward Enterprises Ltd (until very recently Windward Global), the ultimate holding company, where Oliver James Millican, capo di tutti capi in the W-B world, is in sole charge.
But what’s its purpose, and how does it fit into the wider empire? Information received offers some answers. And opens up a new line of inquiry.
As you can see from the Companies House entry for Storagefolk the address is in Mayfair, that upmarket district of London. The sole director is Millican. But he gives his address as Hodge House in Cardiff, where we find virtually all the companies relevant to Wales. Or at least, those we know about.
Listed as ‘person with significant control‘ (PSC) is Windward Global Ltd.
Though if we go through the main CH listing for Millican’s companies we see Storagefolk using the Hodge House address. (More Millican companies are listed here, here, here, and here.)
At the address in Curzon Street, hosting Storagefolk, we find Turcan Connell Company Secretaries Ltd. Scottish legal eagles with their HQ in Edinburgh. A company regularly used by Millican and his mates.
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MY! WHAT A BIG WAREHOUSE YOU’VE GOT. AND SO MANY OF THEM!
Of the companies registered at that address, we’re interested in the ones shown in the panel below. Particularly those to which I’ve been directed. (Storagefolk appears on the previous page.)
Beginning with Windward Eurocentral MD Ltd. Sole director Oliver Millican. PSC is Windward RE Holdco Ltd (more on this company later). PSC for Windward RE Holdco Ltd is Windward Enterprises Ltd, the ultimate holding company mentioned earlier.
Turn to the charges and you’ll see one taken out in July 2023 and satisfied in April 2025. The lender was private bank Brown Shipley & Co Ltd. Brown Shipley is owned by Quintet Private Bank (Europe) SA of Luxembourg, which is in turn owned by Precision Capital:
Precision Capital is a Luxembourg-based holding company that represents the private interests of members of the Al-Thani family of Qatar.
The charge was against a building just to the east of Glasgow, close to the M8 that runs to Edinburgh. A property offering 127,000 square foot of space.
The next company is Windward Badentoy Ltd. Directors are Millican and TC Directors Ltd with an Edinburgh address. ‘TC’ of course is Turcan Connell again. The PSC is Windward RE Holdco 2 Ltd.
The charges, again with Brown Shipley, refer to industrial storage units such as this one, all near Aberdeen. Plus a floating charge.
The third is Windward RE Project Co 1 Ltd. Here are the players. It’s the Mayfair address with PSC again being Windward RE Holdco 2 Ltd. There are/were two outstanding charges with Brown Shipley. One a fixed and floating charge, the other refers to three properties in Aberdeen and Edinburgh.
Another company worth looking at is Windward Z3B Ltd, with the same pattern. Funding from Brown Shipley for two more storage facilities on industrial or technology parks around Aberdeen.
And there was another company, one that I wrote about in August 2024. And other warehouse not far from the M8.
It was reported on October 2, 2018 that the Titan warehouse had been bought for £6.5M by Grayling Capital. This is Grayling Capital LLP, formed just over a year earlier.
David Taylor, one of those recently questioned by police in relation to China ‘spying’, was made a partner in Grayling Capital LLP in September 2019.
I could go on, but you should get the picture. Companies in the W-B empire have, for perhaps a decade, been buying up big warehouses, often borrowing from a ’boutique’ bank owned by an oil-rich family in Qatar.
A name mentioned in connection with W-B’s activity in the Aberdeen area is IKM. Said to be a tenant of properties owned by Windward-Bute. Here’s a piece from December last year and the Aberdeen Press & Journal.
In another major milestone, IKM Testing UK today opens its third facility as it pushes ahead with plans to expand into international markets, the renewables sector and increase its UK decommissioning work.
But IKM only accounts for some of W-B’s real estate, so the question remains: Why does it need all this storage space?
◊
PLANNING AHEAD?
First, let me clear up the purpose of Storagefolk before telling you how Windward-Bute buying up vast areas of storage space was explained to me:
(Storagefolk) is purely a negotiating shell for projects in Scotland and NE England; it is used in proposals to financiers, a distinct legal entity is then formed post-investment decision to ring fence properties and interests – and distance from the risk of course.
As for the warehouses, it seems that W-B has been importing parts and components for turbines, solar installations, and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) for quite a few years.
This stockpiling is in anticipation of a crackdown on imported parts for ‘renewable’ energy projects. This seems plausible as the opposition mounts to increasing energy prices resulting from ‘Mad’ Ed Miliband’s Net Zero death-wish.
The real estate arm of the Windward portfolio . . . is working with multiple overseas businesses and at least one national government to house interests and commodity items relating to renewables infrastructure. There are warehouses in Wales and Scotland filled to the rafters with BESS and pylon materials – rented and landed for resale exclusively to the UK market to artificially appear to restrict overseas procurement and brand it as available when supply chains pinch in the late 2027 to early 2029 drive.
Is it just forward planning, or is there more to it?
As an example of ‘more to it’, can we assume these imports come from China? I’d put a few quid on it. And if I’ve picked the right nag, then this explains a few other things.
For as we’ve recently learnt, it’s impossible to escape the China connection when dealing with Windward-Bute. So I was not surprised to be told that two of the Big Three (Oliver James Millican, Stuart Allan George, and Lawson Douglas Steel) have even stated they’d sell to “interested parties from China at the right price“.
But none of these machinations would be possible without political influence, and that influence is not confined to Labour in Wales.
Let’s remember that Tom Watson, former deputy leader of the UK Labour party, now Baron Watson of Wyre Forest, is a non-executive director of Windward Energy Ltd, where he’s listed as plain old Thomas Anthony Watson.
It’s suggested this provides a good connection through Great British Energy to ‘Mad’ Ed Miliband himself, the apostle of Net Zero, de-industrialisation, and electricity consumer impoverishment.
To sum up: there is a concerted effort not only to increase expenditure and reliance on ‘renewables’, but also to remove cheaper and more reliable alternatives. This explains why the UK is closing down North Sea oil and gas . . . only to buy from Norway, which extracts from the same North Sea source.
Proving it has sod all to do with saving the planet.
This is the ugly world inhabited by Windward-Bute. It’s not limited to wind turbines despoiling landscapes, it’s about using political influence to remove competition providing more reliable and cheaper alternatives.
In Wales, this has resulted in the infiltration of the Labour party to the point where it’s hopelessly compromised. Election posters for May’s Senedd elections should read: ‘Vote for Dai Jones – your Bute Welsh Labour candidate‘.
We know W-B is also making inroads into Plaid Cymru. The Greens were always on side. But does it end there?
Maybe not.
◊
TITBITS, THOUGHTS
In this section I’ll look at a few other items that have come my way and how they perhaps fit with what we already knew.
First, I’m told that Nigel Farage had a closed-door meeting in January with Windward Energy Ltd Chairman Steve Scrimshaw. So let’s have a statement from Reform on where it stands on ‘renewable energy’ and rising electricity prices.
More closed door negotiations preceded the decision by the Wales Pension Partnership to invest £68m (for starters?) in Windward-Bute. A source says that very influential in the ultimate decision was Cardiff Lib Dem councillor Rhys Taylor.
Taylor of course sits on the council’s Pensions Committee, but I bet you can’t guess where his day job is. Let me help . . .
So we see that Windward-Bute also has its claws into the Lib Dems.
Leaving Gwlad the only honest party left.
I’m told the investigations into Taylor and Aplin might result in a number of Senedd Members, MSPs and MPs being invited to ‘help police with their inquiries’.
Understandably, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), the main funders for W-B’s renewable energy projects, is said to be pissed off by the recent news and allegations of spying for China.
Which provides yet another link to ‘Welsh’ Labour. Through Helle Thorning-Schmidt, former Danish PM, her directorship of Vestas since 2019, and that company’s 25% stake in CIP.
Helle Thorning-Schmidt is the wife of Stephen Kinnock, MP for Aberavon Maesteg. He is of course the son of former Labour party leader now Baron Kinnock of Bedwellty in the County of Gwent, and the late Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead, long-time Member of the European Parliament.
Her seat on the Brussels gravy-train was taken by Derek Vaughan who, following Brexit, was given a non-job by Windward-Bute on its Welsh Advisory Board.
Kinnock the Younger’s constituency is home to Port Talbot steelworks, so recently and shamelessly allowed to die. Welcomed in certain circles because it reduces Wales’ output of some evil dreamed up by Greenhairs.
∼
I’m going to throw out an idea that might sound outrageous, yet it’s plausible. Just think about it.
Millican, Steele and George all worked for real estate outfit Parabola, where Millican’s father Peter is head man. They all left Parabola towards the end of 2017. (Or that’s what we’re encouraged to believe.)
They had no experience in ‘renewables’; and to my knowledge they’ve still not erected a single turbine. Certainly not in Wales. But is this missing the point?
They now have sites designated, landowners signed up, planning applications submitted, politicians and others bought, financial backing for the projects arranged, and warehouses stacked to the gunwales with the wherewithal to complete the projects.
So if Windward-Bute only gets half or less of the planning consents applied for – even no planning approval at all – they could still sell up and make a massive profit. Especially if the anticipated crackdown on (recently) imported parts comes into play and the components they bought years ago rocket in price.
Maybe that was always the business model. Not actually building anything.
If nothing else, it’ll be a very lucrative fall-back position.
◊
CONCLUSION
Windward-Bute has corrupted Welsh political and public life. And it was so predictable.
With a form of devolved government designed to fail. And with ‘progressive’ politicians too stupid and gullible to have made even a good model work.
Made worse by those same politicians seriously believing Wales alone could save a planet being destroyed by humans – and their farting cows!
Politicians believing that lobbyists and pressure groups should determine policies, and that they should be able to do so free from regulation or restraint.
Resulting in overlapping and incestuous circles in one relatively small city, circles of perhaps no more than two or three thousand people in total, damaging the lives of over three million people.
This shit-show was bound to attract the kinds of ‘developers’ we’ve seen over the past 27 years. With Windward-Bute perhaps the worst, the most pernicious example.
Windward-Bute already has the shadow of ‘China spying’ hanging over it, and the stain of buying political influence, but it doesn’t end there.
The West’s lemming-like rush over the cliff of ‘renewables’ isn’t just good news for China, on which we depend for everything from rare earth minerals to completed solar panels; it’s also welcomed in the oil-rich Gulf states because ‘renewables’ are also unreliables, and need back-up.
Some might think that a UK-based company or individuals enriching themselves from helping de-industrialise and impoverish the West is tantamount to treason.
And I would agree. For ‘renewables’ are a response to nothing but avarice.
♦ end ♦
© Royston Jones 2026
These ‘Tit for Tat’ arguements between two are like ‘Twit versus Twat’. Why do they not contact their sitting local Senedd Members Elin Jones and Rhun ap Iorwerth? Who under the present election list system are guaranteed to retain their seats via the new system, and most probably become decision making Cabinet Members in the Wales Government, with a Coalition or Majority Government. Elin Jones by the Senedd’s code of conduct should listen to her constituent ‘Twit’ and Rhun ap Iorwerth should listen to his constituent ‘Twat’! Post open copies of those letters here, and the replies, here, if Jac agrees. If they as Cabinet Members refuse to answer reasonable letters from ‘T & T’, refer these two Senedd Members to the Senedd’s Standards Officer as being just as arrogant as old Welsh Labour.
I write to Rhun all the time,and sometimes have meetings, and have campaigned alongside him opposing pylons and mega solar. He gave a talk at a CPRW energy presentation in Llangefni and wrote an article for the CPRW magazine. He has a good grasp as to how the energy system operates. But what is it you suggest I write to him about now?
Interesting to hear of your frequent personal communications and meetings with the Plaid Cymru Leader, whose party want community owned monster onshore Wind Turbines all over little Wales, without a thought of the impossible cost investments of community equity for villagers, and the destruction of scenic Wales to feed English cities to benefit foreign jobs in factories manufacturing most items. Did you discuss those aspects with him? What did he say? If his communications were not marked ‘confidential’ can you release exactly what he said? Did you get the imprssion that the Wind Turbine huggers in Plaid Cymru understand all or any the Mega Facts involved in the old and new Grid and variable power?
He is my MS, and we can all communicate as frequently as we please with our elected representatives. More people should do it. I also communicate with other politicians
I know Rhun wants community owned renewables (as do I), I don’t know if he wants those to be “monsters” or not (which I would not). We have never discussed that
None of his mails are marked confidential, but I don’t feel the need to share any of them. Write to him yourself, but I imagine he is quite busy at the moment
I don’t know any wind turbine huggers, from Plaid or anywhere else. I talk with NESO quite frequently about variable generation though. I really don’t know what the issue is. Contact them yourself
box.customerservice@neso.energy
There are NO 820 ft wind turbines planned for Anglesey. Rhun ap Iorwerth said they are not going there. GOOD!! He said “not suitable”!!
So HOW are they “suitable” for the rest of Wales? Please ask him that!
Also ask why Plaid Cymru’s Baroness Smith of Llanfaes , Anglesey, IS WORKING FOR BUTE ENERGY?
It is the MOD that always block large turbines here due to the low fly training area, interference with military radar and flight paths into Valley and Mona
My understanding from members register of interests is that the Baroness does not work for Bute. She may have done in the past
Dear Editor,
Our current Welsh political representatives are very lacking in technological knowledge and engineering experience.
An example occurred on April 23rd , when I was part of the audience for a TV political debate in Welsh with six leaders/representatives of the six main Welsh political parties on S4C’s “Y Ddadl Fawr”, televised live from Carmarthen.
I made the very valid point that Pembroke CCGT gas-fired power station in the extreme west of Wales generates a steady, reliable 2200 MW whilst Wales only uses 1600MW on average.
Therefore, I said that all 60 operational wind farms in Wales MUST be supplying England, as will all 65 of the proposed gigantic wind farms……with many new wind turbines 750 ft to 820 ft high….that are all listed on the CPRW web-site!
These 1000 or so new wind monsters ,and their three giant pylon link lines , will wreck both Welsh scenery and Welsh tourism in a futile attempt to power English cities!!
It’s a valid point because, apart from a handful in Pembrokeshire, every one of the Welsh wind turbines is to the EAST of Pembroke CCGT….and therefore closer to England!!
When I made this point…….not a single panel politician of ANY party…….uttered a WORD in response!! They had no answers because they had NO CLUE!! They are either extremely biased towards sporadic wind energy…….or oblivious of electrical FACTS and simple maths !!
On later investigation, I found that the official Welsh Government data states that Wales USED 13 Terrawatthours [ 13 million MWhours] in 2023. Therefore, divide by the number of hours in a year[8760] and one finds that the average used in Wales per hour in 2023 was only 1484 MW…..even less than my 1600!!
So Pembroke CCGT’s 2200MW ALONE powers far more than Wales!!
Confront the politicians!! Ask them why another 1000 gigantic wind turbines almost as high as Eiffel Tower are being dumped on our glorious unspoilt hills and mountains to power Birmingham, Manchester and London!! Where are the wind turbines of most of England?
Yours faithfully,
Lyn Jenkins,
Clyn-yr-ynys,
Gwbert,
Aberteifi.
SA431PR
THAT HAS JUST BEEN SENT TO 10 WELSH NEWSPAPERS.IT IS ALL FACT!!!
Pembroke’s CCGT DOES NOT produce a steady reliable 2,200 MW. It could do, but doesn’t need to
It has, I think, five generation trains, and is so useful because it is so flexible, being able to increase and decrease generation rapidly
The overall capacity factor is about 40% so on average generates just under 900 MW
It was built to serve the U.K., and is connected by the two lines of pylons all the way to the outskirts on London, and anywhere to the top of Scotland
The balancing mechanism merit order prioritises the lowest marginal cost source first, so nuclear, solar, onshore wind, offshore wind, gas, in that order. Pembroke will only run if it’s needed to run, because other (lower marginal cost) sources cannot generate enough, or the grid does not have capacity to get available supply to demand
If Pembroke CCGT…..is NOT fully on , and generating 2200MW ….. all the time,it’s because WIND ENERGY is having the PRIORITY over gas-fired power stations!!
If energy is generated in Wales, it must count as “Welsh energy”..
Besides, you can’t tell me that the National Grid can FOLLOW THE CONSTANT “WHIMS” OF THE FICKLE WIND!!
IMPOSSIBLE! Therefore, CCGT power stations like Pembroke MUST be producing steam AT TIMES……when it is NOT converted into electricity for the Grid!!
Look at the yo-yo nature of the wind energy graph on Gridwatch.
OF COURSE, gas must be burnt and WASTED ! The National Grid simply CANNOT be supplied properly by that yo-yo graph!!
Retired Engineer , Brian Christley, who was the CHIEF Concorde pilot trainer….has always said that wind energy cannot power the National Grid properly.
If you look on page 13 of the report you reference yourself …
https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2026-03/energy-generation-and-use-in-Wales-first-combined-edition.pdf
… you will see the total installed gas generation capacity and output. From this you can calculate yourself that the combined capacity factor of all gas stations was 35% (it was 40% in the previous year’s report)
You are totally correct, wind has priority over gas as it comes earlier in the merit order as it has a lower margin cost of generation
If you want to know how NESO balance the grid to take account of variation, first read this, and then ask them if you have any questions. They do it, day in, day out
https://www.neso.energy/news/energy-explained-costs-balancing-britains-electricity-system-keep-you-powered
I have to admit it is really fascinating the way it is done, and not as you might expect
Whose SIDE are you on Jonathan? You purport to represent CPRW and WELSH LANDSCAPES, but here you are , virtually agreeing with the Govt CHICANERY that is going on….to JUSTIFY MORE WELSH ONSHORE WIND ENERGY!!
[1] One thing is true!! The Welsh Govt is putting WIND ENERGY BEFORE CCGT GAS-FIRED POWER STATIONS……….so as to MANIPULATE percentages and the case for MORE renewables!
THEY ARE DELIBERATELY HOLDING BACK ON THE 2160MW POTENTIAL OF PEMBROKE CCGT POWER STATION……..so they can say “WALES NEEDS MORE ONSHORE WIND!” It’s a DISGRACE!!
YOU REPRESENT CPRW , SO WHY DON’T YOU SAY THIS IN 20 WELSH NEWSPAPERS??
[2] They say “Wales generated 7.9 terrawatthours of renewable electricity in 2024, equivalent to 54 per cent of 2024 Welsh consumption”
THAT IS FAKE…….BECAUSE THE WIND PRODUCTION GRAPH IS LIKE A YO-YO!! NO WAY WAS THE WIND ACTUALLY PRODUCING ALL THE ELECTRICITY BECAUSE A YO-YO GRAPH WITH STEEP INCLINES AND DECLINES OBVIOUSLY NEEDS 24/7 BACKING FROM A STEADY SOURCE LIKE CCGT GAS-FIRED POWER STATIONS!!
HOW COULD ALL THE WIND GENERATION BE USED BY THE NAT GRID IN PRACTICE?? IT IS LIKE A “JUMPING JACK” !!
If Pembroke CCGT power station was used to full capacity, generating 2160MW AROUND THE CLOCK………SIMPLE ARITHMETIC TELLS US IT WOULD GENERATE 18.92TERRAWATTHOURS IN A YEAR!!
That is FAR in excess of the 7.9 TWh CLAIMED by “renewables” !!
Whose side are you on Jonathan Dean? If you are FIGHTING FOR WALES…….and you represent CPRW, why are you not stating these numerical TRUTHS in 20 Welsh newspapers?
Look what the Govt report says:-
This report outlines the current energy consumption and generation trends and considers these within the wider context of future energy targets for Wales. The Welsh Government has set a target for domestic renewable electricity generation to be equivalent to 70% of annual electricity consumption by 2030 and 100% by 2035. In 2024, renewable electricity generation in Wales was equivalent to 54% of its electricity consumption1 . Electricity consumption in Wales has reduced over the last two decades but it is projected to increase as Wales decarbonises. One of the key drivers for this is the anticipated shift from fossil fuels to electricity for heat, industry and transport2 . Whilst electrification does reduce total energy demand due to improved efficiencies, electricity demand is still expected to more than double by 20503 . Meeting this demand will require a significant increase in renewable generation to sustain progress towards Welsh targets. In the adopted net zero pathway for Wales, Welsh electricity consumption is projected to rise rapidly by 2035: increasing from 14.5 TWh in 2024 to 23.8 TWh in 2035. Consequently, although current Welsh renewable electricity generation is equivalent to 54% of 2024’s electricity consumption, that same renewable electricity generation is only equivalent to 33% of the estimated 2035 electricity consumption for Wales. Therefore, renewable electricity generation in Wales needs to triple to achieve the Welsh Government’s target of meeting 100% of Welsh electricity consumption with Welsh renewable e
I don’t say those things in 20 Welsh newspapers because they aren’t true
[1] The Welsh Government have absolutely no involvement in the operation of Pembroke CCGT. Or Uskmouth or Connah’s Quay. Or any other generator in Wales. At all. The WG cannot demand a power station be used or not
All generation (transmission connected and BEGA) is “controlled” by NESO in England, Wales and Scotland from a central control room in Berkshire. They allow generating stations to start and stop to balance the grid. No one else
Energy is not a devolved power so the WG cannot do as you say
[2] The data comes from a variety of sources but ultimately from Elexion, the same place gridwatch get their data. The WG have no involvement in this
The grid is balanced in 30 minute increments for every single Grid Supply Point (places where transmission feeds distribution). Generators connected to each GSP bid to meet demand every 30 mins and NESO choose those that are allowed to
Ask NESO for more details as it is pointless me telling you what they are better placed to tell you
You are totally correct with your simple arithmetic. That wouldn’t make a very interesting letter though
So you say that the charlatans who rule us from Cardiff Bay…….HAVE NO INFLUENCE OVER NESO IN WALES AND NO INFLUENCE OVER THE OUTPUT OF PEMBROKE POWER STATION!!
PROVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!
WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU REALLY ON, JON DEAN???????
YOU WRITE VERY LITTLE IN DEFENCE OF WALES VIA CPRW ………!!
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WITH CPRW?
Lyn
I don’t have to prove anything to you and seriously doubt I could say anything that would change your prejudices. Ask them yourself, don’t listen to me. NESO are licensed by Ofgem to operate the GB transmission system. Periodically Westminster and the devolved governments in Wales and Scotland will commission them to produce specific things, like the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan and the Centralised Strategic Network Plan. This is all on their website so you can read it yourself, don’t accept what I say
Energy policy is NOT DEVOLVED. Operation of the transmission system (and so generation connected to it) is NOT DEVOLVED. When a power station does and doesn’t run is NOT DEVOLVED. But don’t listen to me, ask NESO, Ofgem and DESNZ
The output of Pembroke will progressively decline over the next five years as it is U.K. policy, and has been since 2008. This will happen irrespective of who is in power in the Senedd. But don’t listen to me, ask DESNZ
Whose side am I on? What are the options? I didn’t realise we had to take “sides”
I write very little? Some would say I write far too much. If you don’t see that then it’s your issue not mine. You have surely seen my articles in the CPRW magazine?
What the hell am I doing with CPRW? I’d have thought that was pretty obvious, trying to protect rural Wales
The AGM is coming up soon – why don’t you table a motion for members to vote on? I’m sure your branch Chair would support you
Lyn just correctly entered on Jac’s BLOG :-
“Retired Engineer , Brian Christley, who was the CHIEF Concorde pilot trainer….has always said that wind energy cannot power the National Grid properly”.
Also do not forget two other experts who said Wind Power was not Grid suitable:-
1)Academic Dr John Etherington who wrote the sell out book the Wind Farm Scam.
2) Also more notable than anyone in all this debate was William Oxenham a leading academic and professional senior GRID ENGINEER in Scotland.
You should ask them all to tell NESO, who operate the grid, I don’t
No one has ever suggested the grid would only be supplied by wind. Or solar, nuclear etc etc. Even in the olden days it was never supplied only by coal
Even France, held up as the poster boy for nuclear, relies on a complex system of hydro, pumped storage, import/export, gas, wind and solar to balance its grid
I said above – “Wind Power was not Grid suitable” – that was not part of a debate on the “GRID MIX”, Wind is so erratic and variable it is certainly UNSUITABLE but obviously very profitable for foreign businesses. It is so sad that you obviously have a one track energy influence on Plaid Cymru’s gullible leadership.
Considering how much of our electricity comes from wind it would certainly seem to be “grid suitable” whatever you mean by that
If you look at the forecasts it is not as erratic and variable as you seem to think
I have no idea how profitable it is, for companies from any country
I seriously doubt I have any influence on the Plaid leadership
All I have ever done is drawn my own conclusions from some pretty reliable sources. So wind is good and we have masses of potential offshore, so don’t need any on land. What’s not to like?
What I find most puzzling is why do both you and Lyn keep quizzing me, a reader of reports, and not the authors of the reports? I have told you both, ENDLESSLY, to read the Future Energy Scenarios from NESO. Why do you not do that, resolve your differences with them, and then tell us all the outcome?
Those two WELSH HEROES , Messrs Oxenham and Dr Etherington, will be spinning in their graves right now!!
What a load of SHYSTERS we have in charge of affairs in Wales !!
By the way, I have a wind energy letter in the Western Mail today, Monday 4th May!!
I DON’T HIDE!! …..and I’m 79 and still writing at 2.40 am……after WORKING at my Farm Park for 4 hours on Sunday!!
I have WORK again in a few hours time !!
What a LAZY country we live in, where people with plenty of time on their hands do not have the GUTS to protest in a single newspaper !!
“BUSY”??? THEY HAVE NEVER KNOWN THE MEANING OF THE WORD!!!
As usual Jac, an excellent bit of journalism! Bute’s method of business is rather similar to how the ‘deep state’ operate.
I’m afraid that Bute’s poison has reached many other bodies, than only our Welsh Government. They involve themselves with schools; young farmers clubs and agricultural shows – they even have influence in the gratest show of all… the Royal Welsh!
They target their interest with ready cash from their bulging war chest. Nothing less than opportunistic carpet baggers – of the highest order. Utter slime!
WHERE did the £926,000 ” CASH IN BANK” come from, into David Taylor’s Earthcott Ltd account?
That LOBBYING COMPANY FOR BUTE ENERGY is virtually a one-man-band company, with very few running costs. Check it out on Companies House.
The CEO David Taylor had around £43K there the previous year…….then a massive £926,000 appears in the account !!??? WHY????
[a] Where did it come from?
[b] What is it being spent on?
[c] Why was David Taylor arrested for ALLEGEDLY “spying for China” ?
[d] SINCE HE WORKS FOR BUTE ENERGY……..HOW IS BUTE A FIT COMPANY TO DEVELOP BUSINESS ALL OVER WALES??
[e] THE PENSION FUNDS OF WELSH PUBLIC SECTOR WORKERS ARE INVESTED IN BUTE ENERGY!
There should be at least a MORATORIUM ON ALL BUTE ENERGY BUSINESSES UNTIL ALL THIS IS LEGALLY CLEARED UP!!
WHO HAS RECEIVED “SWEETENERS” FROM DAVID TAYLOR???
ANY KNOWLEDGE OUT THERE PLEASE??
If the three wind farms are built above BUILTH WELLS, the HORRENDOUS RACKET…….and INFRA-SOUND….will be such that it could really upset the pedigree animals of the ROYAL WELSH SHOW , at Llanelwedd, Builth Wells. If you want to learn more about infra-sound, Google it, and check the reports on StopTheseThings.com.
See the Aussie reports on NOISE!! Those Oz machines are FAR smaller than 750 ft or 820 ft!!
Many people in Wales will not be able TO LIVE in their homes if these latest monsters go up!!
The turning circle….”swept area” of a 820 ft wind turbine with 260 ft blades, is TREBLE that on a 400 ft one with 150 ft blades. Work it out!! Simple maths pi x radius squared !!
Eifion – Do not forget – BUTE ENERGY is also sponsoring some of our major SPORTING events now with all the money they have. Have they sponsored our main Eisteddfodau yet? They are regulars at Plaid Cymru conferences with fringe stalls – do they pay Plaid Cymru for being there influencing young Plaid voters wth their green candy floss?
I’m not sure it’s fair to say the North Sea is being closed down. There is a world of difference between no new drilling licenses and shut in all wells and cancel current drilling licenses
We have been importing gas from Norway for decades as the Norwegian reservoirs have far more gas than the U.K. reservoirs in the northern North Sea (“North Sea gas” of old was generally southern North Sea)
The U.K. North Sea reservoirs have been in decline since the 1990’s, one reason being the differing production strategies of U.K. and Norway.
U.K. reserves were often exploited to maximise short term production, often leaving now unrecoverable oil and gas in reservoir extremes. Norway has always produced to maximise recovery, often at lower production rates but leaving less in the ground. Norway would develop production hubs with distant reserves tied in but ultimately sharing assets
Overall, Norway has run its reservoirs for the long term benefit of Norway. The U.K. has allowed each company to do as it pleased
The U.K. sector of the North Sea is a mature basin and while new deposits will no doubt be found in years to come, drilling now or later will not make a huge difference. Both the oil and gas from U.K. or Norwegian sectors is traded on the same markets so costs the same. Increasing output from the U.K. and decreasing imports from Norway will have no influence on price or availability in the U.K.
Ignore my terminology and the fact remains that we have governments in the UK and Wales believing anything other than ‘renewables’ must be phased out.
That’s not true at all. There is a new gas power station in planning at Connah’s Quay and others elsewhere in the U.K. There is nuclear being built or planned at Hinckley, Sizewell, Bridgend, Hartlepool,Wylfa and Oldbury
Sizewell has been in the pipeline for decades. As for the others, let’s wait and see.
The West is being de-industrialised and the excuse given is the need to ‘save the planet’, cut carbon emissions, and other bullshit. Cheaper energy sources – such as Russia – must be blocked off, and the West then forced down the road of ‘renewables’. Any deviation from this directive is due to public anger at rising energy prices, and pressure from business.
And many ‘projects’ will be sops. So let’s wait to see how many materialise.
Nuclear does take a long time. Just look at Hinckley. Bizarrely Reform U.K. are huge fans of nuclear
The U.K. has never used Russian gas as we have a direct pipeline from Norway and have done for decades
Mainland Europe did use Russian gas but it’s no cheaper than gas from anywhere else, it was just easy
Thatcher started to deindustrialise the U.K. and only 9% of our GDP is from making things, and has been similar for decades. Long before net zero became law
I know of many manufacturing companies that started the process of outsourcing to China in the 90’s, purely on cost grounds, nothing whatsoever to do with emissions. Just like Germany pushed manufacturing into Eastern Europe just after the wall came down. It’s just chasing cheaper labour rates
The US de-industrialised. Now Trump is reversing the process. Bring jobs home, put tariffs on imports.
Trump will bring the work out of China and into South and Central America which he can dominate. The only way they can compete on price is to bring the work to low cost countries
Whatever happened to free trade? Maggie would be appalled at such lefty protectionism. You’ll be giving the workers control over the means of production next
‘Free trade’ works when everybody plays by the rules. Trump is fundamentally an isolationist who believes the USA can produce virtually all it needs. And he’s not far wrong. He has also reminded the world of the Monroe Doctrine.
He’s looking for a new understanding with Russia and China. Maybe a return to ‘spheres’ of influence’. EU countries and UK refused to help in the Straights of Hormuz (UK perhaps incapable of support), saying ‘It’s not our war’. White House now saying Ukraine is not the USA’s problem. And there’s talk of pulling out of NATO. An organisation that should have been disbanded in 1990. But the Globalists needed Russia to remain the enemy.
Big changes are taking place globally that could result in lasting peace. But war is good for business, and that’s why the Globalists oppose Trump at every turn. And why the media compares him to Hitler.
I’m just sick of the lies.
I still don’t know what or who these so called “globalists” are
Organisations like the Club of Rome, or the WEF, even the UN (and of course the WHO). Families like the Rockefellers, the Fords, the Rothschilds. Individuals like Larry Fink, Bill Gates, George Soros. All of whom believe they know what’s best for us, and think the world would be a better place for them if there was some kind of global government.
Nation states, democracy, freedom of thought and speech, are obstacles to their ambition. And so they must be done away with.
We’re at the stage where the mirage of independent countries is maintained, but if the political elite is captured, then the Globalists have achieved their objective. Who do you think’s controlling Starmer? Or do you believe he’s a free agent? Same with Macron. Carney in Canada. And almost every previous US president since JFK.
You have a very vivid imagination
No great imagination needed. It’s all there for those that want to see.
Have you always thought this way?
Only since Covid. That was the eye-opener for many. Do you still believe the official narrative on that pandemic? Still wearing a mask? Keeping your distance?
Thought so
Yes, still believe what I understand is the official narrative
No, don’t wear a mask as the virus is less common and the variants less serious
Have had it once
Have had all vaccinations
For us covid was a wonderful time. Incredibly peaceful, but then we are lucky
Good source of information on the Covid global scam and globalist strategy in general.
https://biggeesblog.cymru/
Thanks, Wynne. Some people still believe everything we were told.
What conservative party of big or small C would raid the overdraft and shell out untold billions to pay people to sit on their arse and businesses to cease trading. It flies smack bang in the face of their raison d’etre. Either it was an enormous, global public health crisis or orders from above are paramount.
Covid was primarily an exercise in control. A trial run for what might come next. Those paid to stay home were either paid by states or employers the Globalists think are expendable. Did BlackRock, State Street, Vanguard, lose out? Of course not. They hoovered up the companies that went bust.
A small firm I worked for went under as a consequence, and I stayed in touch with a couple of the bosses afterwards and got no wind of a takeover from Soros and co. </facetiousness>
The Tories like to claim they’re the party of small government but authoritarianism never goes away, it’s just reshaped to fit the agenda of the day. Small State Maggie wielded the force of the state when it suited, the old bag.
The natural endgame for an unfettered free market, or so I thought.
You should know all about Norwegian oil , Jonathan. Didn’t you work for them?
Anyway, what about UK “Balance of Payments”? In the Sixties, that’a ll we heard about!! Now, we are so far in the RED, that the BBC never mentions Balance of Payments or Balance of Trade!!
All we hear about is GDP……Gross Domestic Product!! That’s not the TRADE of the UK!!
It includes an out-of-control public sector…….who only SPEND what a few of us in the private sector EARN for “UK Limited” !!
Our OWN OIL AND GAS……..saves us from buying it from another country!!! That used to be important!!
The UK would be LONG BUST if it was a “proper business”!!
NORWAY IS RUN AS A PROPER BUSINESS FOR NORWEGIANS ALONE………AND THERE ARE ONLY ABOUT 5 or 6 MILLION OF THEM!!
THEY ARE HYPOCRITES PRETENDING TO BE “GREEN” WHILST SELLING OIL AT HIGH PRICES!!
THEN THEY EXPECT OTHERS IN NATO TO DEFEND THEM FROM RUSSIA ON THEIR NORTHERN BORDER!!
ALL THE UK DOES……IS PAY OUT!! IT USES MONEY IT HAS NOT EARNED!!
TOO MANY LAZY PEOPLE HERE!!
Companies House data
https://x.com/DanNeidle/status/2032506756786511908
The CH website is a shambles. When I was looking for companies registered to Oliver Millican of Windward-Bute for the latest piece I found five different entries under the same name.
CH issued a warning recently thatthey have problems dealing with a variety of website based transactions because of difficulties with commissioning or updating work. No doubt they too went out to market and picked some profit gouging ham fisted multi-national (like Fujitsu) who are now leaving their trademark inefficiency or loose ends for someone else to sort out. Were all those “free” lunches and trips to big sporting/cultural events worth it? Not to us the taxpayers but no doubt some of the fat cat senior execs who engaged in the selection process for contractors have moved on by now to rich pickings elsewhere. How many of these fiascos go undisclosed? It was only the malice shown to sub postmasters that got the PO exposed as a bunch of shitbags.
Completely off topic but worth recording this quote from a Spectator message today –
Ireland’s Establishment has reimagined St Patrick’s Day as a celebration of multiculturalism,
Have they gone completely nuts over there?
The president described him as an “immigrant“. But she’s off the fucking wall.
Surely the common Celtic culture of the time and today disqualifies that notion? Also, If I’m not mistaken, reciprocally in the respective nationality law of the UK and Ireland, citizens of the other state are not considered foreigners.
There have always been reciprocal arrangements working in different directions. Citizens of the Republic were always allowed to vote in UK elections, UK citizens of the North had special status in the Republic. But I recall that many years ago, when I inquired, to have an Irish passport you needed at least one Irish grandparent. Nowadays Abdul fresh off the plane gets a passport, a house, and all state benefits.
I fear violence will inevitably return to Ireland, but this time the targets won’t be the Brits or the Prods.
Plantation 2.0 – Black is the New Orange. Not just in Ireland either. I half reckon the twats in charge are foisting ‘multiculturalism’ and other universally disliked and unwanted ‘policies’ by design to stoke tensions and trigger an uprising for some reason. Perhaps to trigger a full-blown race war and thin the herd…
It has to be fucking galling when the cunts in the Senedd insist every council in Wales throws an LGBTQ Pride hoopla with all the expense involved, but local services people actually rely on are in the toilet. Granted shows of solidarity in that community served a purpose once upon a time when queer bashing was a far more popular pursuit, or in the days when homosexuality was criminalised. But today? Are they seriously that bastard stupid and out of touch with the real world?
The idea of renewables, if only in the abstract, is a noble one – after all, the clue is in the name: non-renewables will eventually run out. Why we’re not throwing everything and the kitchen sink at cracking nuclear fusion, and in the meantime, throwing our lot in with fission (the ‘best of a bad bunch’), is the question.
The fact is extraction of fossil fuels is undoubtedly damaging to the environment, and pumping the shit they produce when burnt into the air we breathe is never going to end well, whether you believe in anthropogenic climate change or not. If the ‘anthropogenic’ were prepended as a rule, it’d save all parties to the debate the tedious and hackneyed opener of “Butbutbut… the planet has been warming naturally for millenia!” We forget that all of us have the same vested interest in looking after our one and only planet.
In these polarised times, nobody wants to lose the debate, consequences be damned. I honestly think many hardcore hippies would actually want to see the planet burn, to be proved right and be able to shove it in the face of the Capitalists, Big Oil, Donald Trump,et al. At the end of the day there must be at least something to it, all scientists can’t be grifters or easily conned, but I would rather be proven wrong and still be able to visit the Netherlands and not have to batten down my roof in hurricane season.
I understand we are about to lead the world with a fusion plant planned in Lincolnshire
Fission, with which we did lead the world, once, will always struggle due to immense cost and lack of flexibility. Stations like Wylfa and Trawsfynydd got flexibility from their pumped storage stations (Dinorwig and Ffestiniog), later stations got flexibility from gas.
France, often held up as the ones to copy have far more hydro and pumped storage than the U.K. could ever have, and without the Alps, the U.K. could never replicate what they do
France is also integrated into the European grid (synchronous AC) while we connect to it by HVDC, so France’s near neighbours are easy to “dump power” on, increasing flexibility
And there will always be the issue of waste. The Telegraph reported that the future cost of managing all current waste exceeds the value of all electricity ever made by nuclear. Had we known that in the 1950’s we would never have started
Is the apparent inflexibility an inherent flaw of nuclear generation or because of the grid setup, or both? The waste is sealed in concrete, buried and obviously monitored, I fail to see how that is so monstrously expensive. Fair enough, having it there for tens of thousands of years isn’t ideal but at least it’s contained so doesn’t persist as an environmental hazard or pollutant as long as it remains so.
No thermal station is particularly flexible except gas CCGTs which just have a jet engine as the first stage. Coal was the same (hence Economy 7 was invented). Nuclear also has the issue where ramping up and down reduces reactor life and is less efficient in fuel use (so more waste). Also, virtually all the cost of nuclear is committed at the beginning of, so costs almost as much switched off as on. Therefore what nuclear we will have will be run flat out all the time
Waste is theoretically easy to deal with but we haven’t yet selected anywhere to bury it, so it’s all still just being stored, ready for when the geological disposal facility is available
I wonder if Westminster will pick somewhere in Scotland, Wales or the North of England for the job – that might just push demands for independence (or federalism, in the case of NoE) to ‘critical’!
I’m betting that the ramping down mechanisms are far more ‘hair-trigger’ in nuclear than the others, for obvious reasons.
I think the current favourite place is under the Irish Sea, accessed from Cumbria. Under the North Sea off Lincolnshire was considered but pretty sure that has been dropped now
I think Scottish planning law gives the ultimate decision to the Scottish Parliament, so unlikely there, and the critical thing is having the right geology which I don’t think Wales has (but I’m no geologist)
The issue with ramping up and down is temperature changes putting stress on the core. They can be shut down quite rapidly if necessary but it doesn’t do them any good
SMRs should have less of an issue as there is less thermal mass, but similar principles. And then SMRs have the issue that theoretically they produce more waste than big nuclear (just geometry) as they loose more neutrons so are less efficient in fuel use and produce more irradiated reactor material
But having said all that, there will be more nuclear, it’s just not a silver bullet to solve all energy needs. About 15 GW total with roughly a quarter of that on Anglesey
You report that …. “Nigel Farage had a closed-door meeting in January with Windward Energy Ltd Chairman Steve Scrimshaw. So let’s have a statement from Reform on where it stands on ‘renewable energy’ and rising electricity prices.”
Reform’s rank and file membership may be mostly hostile to the Net Zero scam but the party’s leadership team are mostly “businessmen” of the City/banker/professions variety who are drawn to the prospect of big bucks and quite willing to ignore the folly and waste of Net Zero antics. I don’t expect much from that lot, indeed most likely to be a continuity of the uniparty shit show that we have suffered for the last 25+years. Failure is now seemingly built into the UK and Welsh political landscape with its politicians motivated more by filling their boots rather than achieving anything worthwhile for our communities.
I’d still like to hear an explanation from Reform.
Oh, I agree with you on that. However my deeply suspicious and cynical nature prevents me from crediting them with sincerity in their declarations. I guess that I’m finished with almost all politicians as a sub species.
Farage comes across as a competent politician, a good debater, but he’s hitting soft targets when he goes for the Wole left and Labour incompetence. Yet despite it all, there is still something of the spiv about him.
Look up what the man has fallen for from pranksters. He got tricked into saying “Up the Ra” in a personalised video message. What British politician of any competence over the last 50 years doesn’t know what that means? Jesus Christ.
I genuinely believe he didn’t know.
I think that’s a given, I mean I very much doubt he’d drop such a clanger on purpose, especially as a politician of his particular stripe. But it’s either a humdinger of a blind spot, or he just isn’t as clever as he likes to portray. I look forward to the spiritual sequel statements from Our Nige, “Trans women are women” and “From the river to the sea”.
Every politician is open to this sort of childishness. Politicians on the right are more likely to be targeted, and the result publicised.
Any politician of any stripe would be wise to not open themselves up on this particular avenue, and not sign up to a platform for custom video greetings better suited to entertainers.
He probably thought it was something like ‘Howay the lads’ that would ingratiate him with oiks somewhere.
If we can believe this, Reform voters love renewables!
Who produced that ‘survey’?
YouGov
Aren’t they owned by prominent Reform figure Nadhim Zahawi?
Or maybe the Reform voters were just confused?
Who commissioned the survey and what was the question?
Don’t know but assumed it was one of the frequent YouGov polls they carry out. I get them daily in my inbox
DESNZ present similar results as do NESO
The questions are broadly worded though
Yeah, like ‘Do you want the world to end next year in a deluge/conflagration?’ And interpreting the predictable ‘No!’ as support for wind turbines everywhere, heat pumps, restrictions on private transport, etc.
Not at all. The DESNZ questions are all available on their website
Can’t be bothered.
The truth is out there
It does beg the question, by what mechanism would we acquire a better political class upon independence? The Seneddistas aren’t going to simply disappear. My reckoning is that a healthier democracy, full ‘buck-stopping-here’ accountability, and attendant increase in engagement and participation by the Welsh body politic will have a Darwinian effect and prune the dead wood.
That has been my big worry in recent years. All my life I have wanted independence, but now is not the time.
I can only hope that the return to economic, biological, meteorological, and other truths, now sweeping the Western world, will eventually wash up on our shores.
But until it does, handing the powers of an independent state to the nutters now controlling Labour, Plaid, Greens, Lib Dems, would see Wales in 10 years bankrupt and over-run with dangerous bastards that no one would allow into a country unless they wanted to destroy it.
There is obvious debate to be had over the Trump Administration’s handling of the issue, but do-gooders and their buzzphrase “Nobody is illegal” don’t half practice sphincter speak. Obviously a person simply existing and living is doing nothing illegal, but crossing a border into a state in violation of its immigration laws is an illegal act, just like burglary or tresspass. I wonder how keen they’d be on the rights of the perp if they were the victim in such an incident.
The left in the West today is irrational and illogical. This condition can be traced back to the losing of the working class. The first inklings came under Thatcher. Blair learnt the lesson and brought out New Labour. Then came some very wishy-washy Tories. But the momentum within the working class was building and burst forth with Brexit.
After that, there was no longer any pretence that the working class was the enemy. Of both Globalism and socialism. With the adherents of the latter becoming the useful idiots of the former. With war declared the left sought new causes and new allies – all designed to hurt the now-hated indigenous working class. And with it came the avalanche of lies and absurdities. Among them that white people are not indigenous to Europe. They are not indigenous to anywhere. They must always be exploiters and colonisers. And they must be replaced.
Hence open borders, the ‘climate crisis’, de-industrialisation, and the left’s love affair with Islam. All designed to harm the once-eulogised workers.
Modern ‘socialism’ can’t last much longer before it collapses under the weight of its own lies, contradictions, and downright insanities.
It’s ironic really that globalism is surely the ultimate expression and natural endpoint of the free market, and has produced probably the greatest wealth disparity since Feudal times – individual people worth more than countries. Goes to show, that the monaxial political spectrum is a gross simplification.
Today’s Tories, incumbent leadership taken over by a woman of recent African extraction from a guy of the Indian equivalent, would recoil with horror at the attitudes towards women, homosexuals and other races of the Old Labour working man sort from the 1970s.
This is an archetype reflected in the character Eddie Booth from the much-maligned sitcom Love Thy Neighbour – a dyed in the wool socialist and self-described comrade, who had some colourful preferred terms for his Trinidadian neighbours, as you may recall.
Globalism is the antithesis of capitalism, which offers the customer competing brands, which means freedom to choose, lower prices. Globalism is the Uniparty, the cartel, the loss of individual freedom. It’s like comparing totalitarianism with a genuine multiparty democracy offering real choice.
Just throws into sharper relief how paradoxical and counterintuitive all this business can be. The ‘free’ market works best like you say, in plurality. But to guarantee such healthy competition we need antitrust legislation and government agencies to enact it. At which point, well it’s now a controlled and moderated market and therefore is it truly free? It kind of reminds me of the ‘this statement is false’ paradox.