Conclusion
16. Due to responses to the Energy Review having
to be with the DTI by 14 April 2006, it has not been possible
for the Committee to conduct its usual in-depth inquiry, and this
Report is not, nor does it purport to be, our own formal response
to the Energy Review. We have not had time to visit, for example,
a nuclear power station or a wind farm to give balance to the
inquiry; this Report deals solely with Westfield.
17. Similarly, the Committee has not had time to
subject what we were told in Westfield to the scrutiny of scientists
or technicians etc. Nevertheless, what we heard and saw convinced
us that what Westfield are doing was of considerable merit, and
the projects outlined to us could produce imaginative technological
solutions to fill the energy gap, as well as 'ticking all the
boxes' in renewable energy development. We therefore shared Westfield's
disappointment that the Minister for Energy had not been able
to visit the Centre.
18. We
recommend that, before the end of the consultation period, the
Minister for Energy visits the Westfield Development Centre to
see for himself what work is being undertaken. Alternatively,
our interlocutors in Westfield have indicated their willingness
to travel down to the Department of Trade and Industry so that
they can give the same presentation to DTI Ministers and officials
that they gave to us. If the Minister's commitments do not permit
him to be able to visit the site, we urge that they be given the
opportunity to put their case at the DTI.
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