5. Statement by the Minister for Climate Change: Public Sector Role in the Future Energy System

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:19 pm on 25 October 2022.

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Photo of Huw Irranca-Davies Huw Irranca-Davies Labour 4:19, 25 October 2022

Faced with the incredible scale of the climate change emergency that we face and the need to hit net zero, this is a very welcome statement today, and particularly the proposals around a Welsh state developer. What I want to ask you, Minister, is: you'll know that right on my doorstep—I'm not asking you to comment on the individual application, don't worry, and it's not to come to you until, I think, in 2023—we have the proposal for the Bryn development. This will be one of the largest in Wales, if not in Europe. It will also be some of the tallest wind turbines. I've been a consistent advocate, by the way, of wind power all these years. These are directly opposite my house; I remain a consistent advocate of them because of that challenge that we have. But it's really interesting that it just overlaps; the timing is just wrong. This could have been one of the state developer ones. Okay, so if it's wrong, you also put in your statement: 

'Our deepening understanding of the economies of large-scale developments will help us set expectations about the level of local social and environmental benefit that it is reasonable to expect of other windfarms across Wales.'

Well, this is one of those other ones. What shall I say to them when I next meet them on behalf of my constituents about the level of community engagement, interest, shareholding, payback, retrofitting, whatever, that we should expect of them if this is going to be one of the biggest onshore wind developments not just in Wales but in Europe? What should we be demanding of them?