Anglesey: Energy Island
At the time of writing an international company is poised to completely destroy the way that solar energy is used globally. This so called disruptive technology is expected to make all existing roof mounted solar technology obsolete.
Existing roof mounted solar technology
So, where will this brave new world begin? The answer in Mochdre near Llandudno in North Wales! Over the past two years there has been a quiet revolution going on in North Wales which over the next decade will see Wales as a centre for alternative, low carbon technology with North Wales and especially the island of Anglesey at its hub.
Credit needs to go to the local government of Anglesey and both the previous Welsh Assembly and the new Welsh Government for making this happen - we have had to fight off stiff competition from around the world for the 1000-2000 jobs coming to Mochdre; so how did we do it?
Anglesey
Anglesey council launched its Energy Island Programme in June 2010 with help from the Welsh Government. The programme will focus on bringing high skilled jobs to the area from major energy investments, establishing a "world renowned centre of excellence". Anglesey will act as a growth pole quickly developing in the alternative energy sector and attracting more money and investment to the region.
So why Anglesey?
Anglesey is gifted with a number of both physical and human geographical advantages.
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It has powerful tides which are often contained in focused channels
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It is in a very windy area
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It has an experienced nuclear workforce in Wylfa
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It has an existing large scale connection to the National electricity grid
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It has excellent ports/harbours
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It has a lot of existing pastoral agriculture
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It has both a local and national government keen to see this location reach its potential.
As well as announcing it is open for business the local and national governments have backed this up with hard cash - the new development in Mochdre will receive a Welsh Government grant of over £3 million. The council has also scaled up training opportunities and a £6 million renewable energy centre on Anglesey was completed in July 2011. Situated on Coleg Menai's Llangefni campus, the centre incorporates the latest in ground-source heating, solar panels, rainwater harvesting, insulation and lighting and constantly monitors its own energy usage. The new energy centre will provide first class training and education facilities for people to work in the energy sector.
A growth pole is a frequently used strategy to increase levels of wealth and economic development in a region such as Wales. The concept is to invest a very large sum of money into quite a small geographic area such as Anglesey; this allows this area to develop the skills and infrastructure to develop as fast as possible. This brings in more investment and wealth which starts to spread out or trickle down to the surrounding areas such as North West Wales and eventually to the whole country of Wales.
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The biggest challenge facing Wales and the developed world today is how to switch to new energy technologies. It is a challenge but also an opportunity, one that Wales wants to take a world lead on and its centre will be Anglesey - The Energy Island.
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Use the different locations shown on your map to annotate the different energy sources being developed on Anglesey and North West Wales. Search the web to find out more and add them to your map.
