1. The Report of this Committee's major inquiry of Session 2005-06, Energy in Wales, was published on 20 July 2006.[1] Although open cast mining was not considered as part of that Report, we noted that "should open cast mining in Wales be extended further, an in-depth assessment of the environmental impact of that process would be worthwhile".[2] Following representations by the Opencast Coal Committee of Wales as well as by groups opposed to such development, we decided to conduct a short follow-up inquiry looking at the future for coal production in Wales and its economic, social and environmental impact. As part of this follow-up inquiry we also heard evidence on the development of sustainable technologies and on measures to encourage microgeneration.

2. We thank all those who submitted written and gave oral evidence. In addition, in May the Committee invited a presentation on the case for a reappraisal of the proposed Severn Barrage project. We thank Roger Hull and colleagues representing the Severn Tidal Power Group for their presentation.

2   ibid, para 71 Back