7. Will the First Minister provide an update on the future of renewable energy in Wales? OQ58022

I thank the Member for that question, Llywydd. That future will see the generation of at least enough renewable energy to fully meet our own energy needs, while also retaining wealth and value here in Wales. Scaled-up renewable energy, together with actions to reduce energy demand, will secure greater energy resilience and support our net-zero targets.

Thank you, First Minister, for the answer, and no questions on the Swans this week from me. But what I will be asking you about is the exciting new plans in Swansea for a new tidal lagoon in my region, and it's an idea reborn by the company DST Innovations, based in Bridgend. As you probably know, Blue Eden would be developed in three phases over 12 years, with plans to start in 2023, with 1,000 jobs making high-tech batteries for energy storage. The £1.7 billion project announced includes a newly designed tidal lagoon and state-of-the-art underwater turbines that generate 320 MW of renewable energy from the 9.5 km structure. And whilst I know there is disappointment that the previous project didn't proceed on cost grounds, this new project has the potential to be very exciting indeed. And unlike the previous project, this one doesn't require taxpayer investment either. So, can I confirm whether the First Minister has met with DST Innovations about the new project, and what steps are his Government undertaking to ensure that this project is delivered?

Well, Llywydd, this project is only alive because of the funding provided by the Welsh Government to allow Swansea city council, which is the lead public body in relation to the Blue Eden project, to go ahead. When the UK Government pulled the plug on the Swansea bay tidal lagoon, despite the Hendry review, which it set up, telling them that it was a no-regrets investment, the fact that there is a scheme at all is only because, at that point, the Welsh Government stepped in and provided the funding to the city council that has allowed them to find that investor, to work with DST and to come up with the new set of proposals. We continue to stay very closely engaged with the city council to support the work that they have carried out. I agree with what the Member said about the potential for this scheme. The great regret is that it didn't go ahead when it was originally proposed, and at a time when energy security is so high on our minds, we would have been within a few short months of that original lagoon now producing energy that could be used here in Wales. It was a proposal that the Hendry review said the UK Government should carry out. [Interruption.] I'm not denying for a moment—. I don't think I've said anything that suggests that the Welsh Conservatives supported the decision to pull the plug on that idea. We all here wish it had gone ahead. That would have been preferable. The fact that we have a successor scheme is because of investment provided from this Chamber and nowhere else, and we, as I say, stay closely in touch with the city council in Swansea, which has been the driving force behind this latest development.