Parliament to debate Shropshire pylons plan
The debate over controversial power lines that could cross Shropshire carrying power from Welsh windfarms is being taken to Parliament next week.
Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies has secured a 30-minute debate to air his worries about the Mid Wales Connection.
He warned it could open the floodgates to hundreds of new turbines.
Mr Davies said the line – which would link a sub-station proposed for Cefn Coch to the National Grid at Lower Frankton near Ellesmere – could pave the way for 500 windfarms.
The Montgomeryshire MP is so concerned that the Welsh Government wants to cover Mid Wales with turbines that he has called a debate on the issue in the House of Commons next Wednesday.
There are five windfarm applications for sites that would feed power into the Mid Wales Connection. But today Mr Davies said he feared these would be the tip of the iceberg.
"What makes me so worried about this connection power line is its capacity," he said.
"I believe it has the capacity to deal with between 500 to 600 wind turbines, far more than are currently planned.
"In all my time in local and national government this application for a connection line and the ramifications that could follow is the most worrying item we have faced.
"I am determined to see this halted."
Mr Davies said he was pleased his request for a half-hour parliamentary debate had been allowed. He added: "I hope that some of the local MPs will be there and I will get support from others in the house. The problem of wind farms and National Grid connections is one that is affecting many areas of Britain. However, I do not think that the scale of the problem is anything like it could be here in Mid Wales.
"I firmly believe that the Welsh government wants to cover Mid Wales in wind turbines."
A public inquiry into applications for five windfarms in Mid Wales is currently under way and will resume in Welshpool later this month.
