Readers of this column won’t be surprised to hear that English wasn’t one of my strong subjects at school. But I was fortunate enough to be taught by “the Great Encourager”, an outstanding teacher called Richard Morgan. In his booming Welsh voice, he would urge us to “WOYOE; write on your own experience”! So here goes.

The problem with “renewable energy” is that in solar and wind we have what would be better called “intermittent energy”. When the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining there’s not much generation. That has always made me a bit sceptical. But, having decided that we should go back into dairy farming, my family and I knew that electricity would become a major outgoing, and a cost we should mitigate.

Solar was the only realistic option. With generous feed in tariffs long gone, it made sense to plan an “organic system”, that is sufficient generation for our own needs. The science of this is complicated and it makes sense to seek out engineers who really understand it. Since peak electrical usage doesn’t always coincide with peak sunlight, a battery was clearly essential.

It's early days, and maybe dangerous to count chickens. But as winter turns to spring, on admittedly bright sunny days, we are generating just over 100kWh per day. The panels occupy no more than one eighth of the available farm building roof space. Their environmental and aesthetic impact is negligible.

With the average four person household consuming just under 10kWh per day, in theory we could power our own farm and 70 homes on a sunny day in March. Of course there would be a requirement for batteries to cover the nights, and backup for periods of low sunlight. It’s also true that solar is not good for grid resilience, that is ensuring a dependable 50Hz AC supply on which modern electronics depend (although large spinning flywheels overcome this).

Sadly this can’t happen because our existing grid infrastructure won’t allow it. So whilst we argue the pros and cons of net zero, the aesthetics of towering on shore wind turbines and pylons, the cost of offshore wind or the negative impact of massive solar farms, a practical solution may be staring us in the face. If we could upgrade the existing grid, make it “smart” and get the science right, every factory and farm roof could become a power station.

Right now the feed in tariff is derisory. Split the difference between it and what the consumer pays at present, and there is a win/win situation requiring minimum or even no tax payers’ money. We will still need back up with Combined Cycle Gas Turbines or Nuclear. But personal experience suggests that we could go a long way to clean and cheap energy, with minimal impact.

Turning sunlight into money is of course what farming is all about. On a dairy farm, the sun makes our grass grow, the cows eat it and through the miracles of rumination and lactation, they turn it into milk. So we need lots of growing grass.

Modern grass varieties (as well as clovers, chicory and plantain) have a longer growing season, and provide more protein and energy. They are also deeper rooting making them drought resilient, whilst increasing soil porosity, allowing water to be absorbed and reducing flooding. Walking the fields confirms this on a daily basis. Mole activity confirms healthy soils, and both the number and variety of birds is increasing.

People who claim that Welsh livestock farming is bad for the environment need to get out more; unless totally blinded by ignorance or prejudice they will see a good news story. And many of the new grass varieties contain the word “Aber”. The clue as so often is in the name; these plants were bread at IBERS, Aberystwyth University’s world renowned agricultural research unit.

Over in England the second Precision Breeding Act has just been laid before Parliament. This will allow gene editing of plants. Unlike Genetic Modification (GM), no new DNA/Genes are introduced. Instead, unwanted genetic material within the plants own genome is deleted. Eminent scientists see this as safe, and it allows quicker development of better grasses or blight resistant potatoes, for example.

In 2023, the Senedd refused to give consent to the first Precision Breeding Act. Were they pandering to the EU and taking an anti-Westminster stance, or following good science? Better plants means better farming and a better environment. It’s another win/win and Welsh farmers and scientists should be at the forefront. Wales needs to get on board this departing train!