Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer.

Making the most of rainy days in Wales—when many people think of Wales, one thing that comes to mind is its reputation as being accustomed to many rainy days. Indeed, according to the Met Office,

'Wales has an essentially maritime climate, characterised by weather that is often cloudy, wet and windy but mild'.

Snowdonia, in the north, is the wettest area, seeing an average annual rainfall exceeding 3,000 mm—far higher than coastal communities and those along the English border, which see less than 1,000 mm a year. Whilst this may seem small in comparison, we actually have very wet urban areas, too. Cardiff is the wettest city in the UK, seeing an average of 115 cm every year—more than Manchester.

Clearly, Wales as a whole, from Cardiff Bay to Capel Curig, is arguably the wettest part of the UK. Evidence of the abundance of rain here is apparent when considering the striking fact that of all nations in Europe, our United Kingdom has the fifth highest average precipitation, following Iceland, Switzerland, Albania and Norway.

In this debate, I'm going to give Suzy Davies a minute also.

The impact of rain is well known to this Chamber due to the devastation caused by flooding, such as in my constituency of Aberconwy. Rather than talk about these negatives, I want to trigger today a cascade of collaboration and conversation about what really could be our greatest natural resource: rain water.

We are not unfamiliar with the advantages of rain in Wales. Indeed, rain water is already used to produce clean, green energy, thanks to our hydro schemes. Unlike other sources of energy, hydropower offers long-term generation, and schemes have an 80-year life period, compared to those of 25 years for wind and solar, and 35 years for nuclear.

According to the Welsh Government, Wales is expected to generate 70 per cent of its electricity consumption from renewable energy by 2030. When considering that we are currently at around 50 per cent, and the longer lifespan of hydro schemes, it is logical to improve the production of renewable energy via hydro.

In fact, there is significant potential in this sector. For example, whilst there is currently an installed capacity of 1,676 MW in the UK, recent resource studies have indicated that there is a practical potential for a further 2 GW of capacity. More so, a report found that Wales has a potential viable hydropower capacity of between 26,730 kW and 63,000 kW. Clearly, this is a missed opportunity, especially with regard to developing further smaller schemes.

As Claire Perry, Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth, stated:

'From power stations to solar panels, the future is local'.

She is correct. For example, there are around 600 rivers in Wales, many of which could potentially provide a source for hydropower, such as through micro, pico, and small-scale hydro schemes. I have been to visit a small development, just in my constituency, and am aware of a few other projects producing between 30 and 100 kW an hour, and I understand that my colleague Mark Isherwood went to a hydro scheme last week.