2. What steps is the Welsh Government taking to ensure that new sources of cheap, clean energy for Wales are implemented as quickly as possible? OQ58049

Thank you for the question, Laura. We are using every lever available to us to develop the clean, smart and flexible energy system of the future, with renewable energy generation at its heart. The UK Government's energy strategy was a missed opportunity, we feel, to set a credible path for scaling up all renewables while supporting consumers through the immediate cost-of-living crisis.

Thank you, Minister. Can the Minister confirm that, through the building of new nuclear power plants, in both Wylfa and Trawsfynydd, Wales has a crucial role to play in securing long-term supply for the UK?

It's really nice to see a renewed interest in Wylfa and the development there. We're very keen to work—. We have a centre of excellence nearby for nuclear, and we have some of the world experts here in Wales for that. So, I'm very pleased to see the UK Government's renewed interest in that—maybe should have been a bit faster, quite frankly, over some of the more recent issues we've had, as everybody is aware, up there on Ynys Môn, with that. Having said that, obviously, nuclear is clean and renewable, but there are issues with nuclear, and I don't want to see an over-reliance on nuclear when we have an abundance of other natural resources here in Wales that can be exploited as part of a good, renewable energy system.

Just this morning, I gave evidence to the Welsh Affairs Committee of the Houses of Parliament, in fact, about the need for good grid planning—in our view, devolution of the grid to Wales, so that we can have that plan—and a shift from what's currently a market-led and market-driven approach to grid, which has left us with no transmission in mid Wales, as your colleague Russell George and I have had numerous occasions on the floor of the Senedd and elsewhere about—transmission lines north and south being inadequate, because it's driven by a need for a particular developer to attach to the grid rather than a planned approach, and that, clearly, isn't a sustainable approach for the future. So, I welcome the UK Government's commitment to having an energy strategy. I regret that it includes oil and gas—I think that's a very retrograde step for net zero. But, the really fundamental thing is to get them into the space so they understand the need for a proper plan, and this is a good step on that path, so that we can plan out our future needs, as we are doing here in Wales, for our regional partners and get that grid in place so that we can have what is a fit-for-purpose twenty-first and twenty-second century grid, so we can take advantage here in Wales of the best renewable energy generation, keeping the cost low for people here in Wales and exporting that renewable energy out into the world, because we have easily the capacity to do that.

If David Cameron hadn't, as he put it, 'cut the green crap' a decade ago, we'd be further along on renewable and nuclear and energy efficiency, and households would be paying less for energy, not more. So, I agree that we need to catch up, but the other side of the coin to energy generation is energy efficiency. So, can you say, Minister, how the forthcoming new Warm Homes programme might build on the success of the previous scheme, which delivered free home-efficiency measures like central heating boilers and insulation to more than 4,500 households across Wales?

Thank you very much, Joyce—I couldn't agree more. There's a need for a planned grid; there's a need for a grid planned for a different scale of attachment to that grid as well. One of the things we're very proud of doing here in Wales, of course, is having the Homes as Power Stations initiative. This is about retrofitting homes so that they come up to the best possible standard, reduce fuel poverty, reduce energy demand and consumption—both of those parts of the equation are absolutely essential—and can also be put into a position where they can take advantage of the renewable electricity supplies that the communities of Wales will host, because their homes are able to be retrofitted properly. That comes out of our approach, which is the pptimised retrofit programme, which, as all Members will know, because I've talked about it a lot in this Chamber, is looking at what tech works for what kind of house in Wales, because one size does not fit all by any means. Then, it will enable us to work with the energy companies to use things like community benefits and community ownership to bring those houses up to standard. It's a win-win for the energy companies because then they'll have more customers for their energy that can be used in that clean and efficient way. So, all our programmes—the Warm Homes programme and all the others, our innovative housing programme and our energy programme—are all designed to produce a number of those solutions that make up the fit-for-the-future grid.