Super Furry Animals' keyboardist, Cian Ciarán, played his most unusual gig yet as he performed his new solo album to an audience of seven people crowded on to the viewing platform of the 67m-tall turbine in Swaffham, Norfolk, in protest at the UK's plans for new nuclear power and in support of renewable energy.
The last remaining nuclear power reactor in Wales, at Wylfa, is expected to shut down in the next two years, but Japanese company Hitachi bought the rights to develop new reactors at the site for £700m. It is one of several potential locations where the UK Government wants to host a fleet of new reactors.
But Ciarán is adamant the closure of Wylfa, in Anglesey, north Wales, should be the end of atomic power in Wales. "Yes, definitely, it should be the last nuclear power station in Wales, without a shadow of a doubt. We don't need them. The scaremongering, that the lights would go out, is a myth."
To proponents of nuclear power who argue it is an important low-carbon energy source, he said, "We have a myth that nuclear power is green. It is bullshit in my opinion. You have to mine the uranium, enrich it, get it here, not to mention all the concrete that goes into building it [the reactor]. It is by no means green."
The UK Government is still locked in long-running negotiations with French energy firm EDF over how much the company should be subsidised for generating electricity – the so-called "strike price" – from its planned nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset. Contracts guaranteeing the price for up to 40 years have been discussed. Contracts will also be issued for wind power.
Ciarán said that the economic case for new nuclear did not make sense. "How can you justify subsidising – however you want to sugarcoat it – paying EDF with taxpayers' money, locking us in for the next 40 years to high electricity bills?"
He continued, "Both the Welsh assembly and the Westminster Government should be focusing on renewable energy and energy efficiency. It [wind power] is the cleanest source of energy, becoming cheaper to produce, is as competitive and is in endless supply. I can't just sit and watch as they continue to miss opportunities that will make a difference environmentally and economically."
