Welsh Achievements - in science, technology and engineering (PDF

For nearly 150 years Welsh
coal provided energy for
ships, trains, industry,
power stations and homes.
now the concentration is on
examining renewable and
more sustainable sources of
energy.
Lord nelson considered
Milford Haven to be one of
the finest natural harbours
in the world and today it is
one of the few in Europe
capable of accommodating
super-tankers to supply the
refinery industry and has
now become the receiving
terminal for imported LnG
(liquefied natural gas), as the
cleanest of the fossil fuels. A
number of valleys in Wales
have been dammed for water
storage and supply whilst
others provide hydroelectric
power. At higher elevations
Wales is generating over 380
megawatts from wind farms
with an intention to generate
800 megawatts by 2010 from
on-shore wind installations;
off-shore locations are
already adding to this.
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The Centre for Alternative
Technology in Machynlleth
has for thirty years
provided expertise and
working examples in the
field of energy generation
and usage. A number of
industrial initiatives has
resulted directly from their
activities and are being
applied world-wide. Expertise
in the academic sector is
yielding more efficient
photovoltaic materials and
thermoelectric devices and
a number of companies are
producing photovoltaics and
finished systems using this
technology. Coming over the
horizon is the generation and
use of hydrogen as an energy
source and Wales is investing
in the generation of the gas
from wind and solar sources
as well as from bacteria.
Energy generation in Wales
encompasses most of the
available technologies
including nuclear, coal, gas,
hydro, biomass and wind.
What will this list look like in
ten years time?
Swansea based company Enfis develop light engines
and arrays that emit extremely high-power light
– including the world’s brightest LED package.