Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:08 pm on 18 January 2023.
Absolutely. I’m very grateful to the Member for that intervention, and I share with him his delight in that announcement by the Secretary of State for Wales. It would have been nice had the Minister mentioned that in her statement earlier, advocating something positive. I’m not one to shy away from saying Welsh Government have done something well at some point—it’s few and far between, granted—but it would be nice if the Welsh Government were able to look up the M4 and say, ‘That was a good idea, UK Government; thank you very much for that.’ Because that’s what T.C. Davies has done with that statement today.
With offshore renewable energy—. If I return to my speech, with the Offshore Renewable energy Catapult, port of Milford Haven, Marine Energy Wales, RWE, Blue Gem Wind, Valero, Dragon LNG, South Hook LNG, Floventis Energy, Blue Flow Energy—too many to name—we can ensure that Pembrokeshire becomes the premier peninsula in energy production, supporting supply chains, as Tom Giffard said, and employment the length and breadth of Wales—those job prospects that were mentioned by Sam Rowlands in his contribution earlier this afternoon.
But, as we’ve heard from both Paul Davies and Altaf Hussain, the opportunities don’t just stop there. The Celtic Freeport bid is a transformational project that will accelerate Wales’s path to net zero, decarbonise south Wales’s industrial corridor, and support the growth of new industry by rolling out floating offshore wind, hydrogen production, marine energy and clean, sustainable fuels. The Member for Ynys Môn, Rhun ap Iorwerth, mentioned his advocation for the free port bid in Holyhead; I absolutely agree with him that two bids in Wales should be accepted. I think that’s a great idea. And do you know what I think? Because there are two Welsh Government Ministers, there are two UK Government Ministers, on the decision-making panel, I'm glad that they'll be able to listen to Rhun's calls, Paul's calls and my calls this afternoon that Wales receives two free ports.
But this is what a free port can bring to the Celtic sea: it can generate £5.5 million in new investment, it can bring over 16,000 new high-quality green jobs and trigger £1.4 billion in port infrastructure, those improvements to port infrastructure that we've heard this afternoon, securing a first move in the advantage of the global floating offshore wind market, bringing these exciting opportunities to south-west Wales. Investing in areas of existing infrastructure is an opportunity to work with the undisputed potential—Delyth mentioned that potential—to enhance the opportunities before us and support the industry-wide transition towards carbon zero and net zero. It's through science and technological advances that we are going to stop the damaging effects of climate change. From large-scale floating offshore wind, the advancement of tidal and wave technologies, and the yielding of both blue and green hydrogen, the Celtic sea and Wales's coastal waters will help deliver clean energy and employment for generations to come.
Carolyn Thomas mentioned the hurdles that are in the way, and used the opportunity of her five-minute contribution to bash the UK Government once again, which is what we've come to expect—I've come to expect—in my near two years in this Chamber: just bashing, bashing, bashing with no understanding of what the issues are at hand. But what we need to do is to have co-operation. This is an opportunity that we can all see, so why are we shaking our heads, Minister? Why are we not seeing the potential that's there? I'd be willing to take an intervention, Minister.