Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Today, I am publishing our consultation on revising Welsh Government's energy targets. Alongside this, I am also delighted to announce some important investment we are making to stimulate the renewables supply chain, driving economic growth alongside emissions reduction and energy security.

Our current targets signalled Wales's high ambitions for renewable energy and this Government's priority to move away from fossil fuels. We are making progress towards those targets, and we need a strong final push on the projects in development if we are going to meet our 2030 target for renewables to supply 70 per cent of our annual consumption.

But the climate crisis and recent energy price surge has brought into sharp focus the need for a further step change in our ambitions. A local supply of secure, affordable renewable energy, within the context of a strong Great Britain network, is the foundation to a prosperous, zero-carbon society.

I can, therefore, announce that we propose a headline target for Wales to generate the equivalent of 100 per cent of our annual electricity consumption from renewable electricity by 2035. Furthermore, we propose that we continue to keep pace with consumption, which is likely to at least double by 2050.

The evidence that is published alongside our proposals indicates the pipeline of projects in development and an illustrative pathway to meeting this target. It is clear that we will need a range of technologies and scales of development to achieve our ambitions. And we will need to be flexible on the right solutions for our communities, and ensure renewable energy can sit alongside Wales's outstanding environmental assets.

What is clear, though, is the role offshore wind is expected to play to reach our goal. Last week, the Crown Estate announced they had issued seabed leases to 8 GW of offshore wind projects. This includes the 1.5 GW Mona project off the north Wales coast. This is a major milestone towards the goal of delivering these projects by the end of this decade.

Fixed offshore wind is already supporting the local economy in north Wales, sustaining 240 good-quality jobs at the port of Mostyn. We are determined to build on this with the upcoming projects, working with the developers to identify local suppliers and build a skilled workforce. We must also learn the lessons of some missed opportunities to capture a greater share of the supply chain for fixed offshore wind, particularly in high-value manufacturing, integration and deployment. I'm therefore delighted to announce that we are granting up to £1 million of support for Port Talbot. This grant will match fund the preparatory work from Associated British Ports to enable future floating offshore wind projects to deploy from Wales. This investment signals to both the industry and the UK Government Welsh Government’s commitment to the floating wind sector. It also provides important funding for the infrastructure that we will need to deliver floating wind to meet our ambitions. Of course, this is not the end of our support, and we will continue to work closely with Port Talbot, Milford Haven Port Authority and colleagues in the Celtic sea alliance to maximise the benefits from floating wind to Wales.

Alongside the production of clean electricity, and the supply chain and employment opportunities it can create, it is also important that communities benefit directly and feel connected to the energy they use in our renewable energy future. The Welsh Government has long been an advocate of local and community ownership across a broad range of renewable technologies and scales of development. To achieve this, we have significantly scaled up the support we offer to communities. We have boosted our Welsh Government energy service offer and provided Community Energy Wales with significantly increased support to enable them to scale up their activities. A local energy grant scheme for community-led projects helps fill the gap left by the UK Government’s decision to end the feed-in tariff scheme. And our guidance on local and shared ownership helps communities to negotiate shared ownership of larger scale projects. And of course, establishing our new public sector renewable energy developer is an important aspect, which will directly retain greater value locally.

Renewing our target demonstrates our continued ambition for that local ownership. We are proposing a target for at least 1.5 GW of renewable energy capacity to be locally owned by 2035, scaling up our current target for 1 GW by 2030. Additionally, recognising the importance of heat decarbonisation, we propose an additional 5.5 GW of renewable energy capacity to be produced by heat pumps by 2035, contingent on scaled-up support from the UK Government and reductions in the cost of deploying this technology. In proposing this target, we welcome any supporting evidence that consultees can provide to inform it. Underpinning all of our proposals and targets are the infrastructure, supply chain and flexibility that will ensure successful delivery of our pipeline of renewable development projects and our energy security.

I've already talked about our support for the development of port infrastructure. Through our manufacturing plan, we are undertaking a supply chain mapping exercise of the marine energy sector. We are particularly looking at the capacity, capability and resilience of existing supply chains and identifying where we can take advantage of opportunities like fixed and floating offshore wind. We are working with network operators and Ofgem to understand and champion the needs of Wales for energy networks capable of supporting a net zero society. And we are encouraging the deployment of storage solutions to support a more resilient energy system. We already have some exemplar skills partnerships, notably the training provided at Coleg Llandrillo Menai to develop specialists in offshore wind. But we want to build on that, and our net zero action plan will set out the steps we will take to develop a world-class workforce for our local projects and great opportunities for school leavers, graduates and those seeking a new career path.

I have often said that Wales must feel the benefit of our renewables revolution and that we cannot make the same mistakes of the past and allow the benefit and profit from our resources to flow out of the country. This statement of intent was made clear in our deep-dive into renewable energy, which provided a vision for Wales to generate renewable energy to at least fully meet our energy needs and to maximise local ownership, retaining economic and social benefits in Wales. Our net zero ambitions will have a large impact on the Welsh economy and our communities as the shift in demand for goods, services and skills evolves. We want to ensure a just transition that provides economic opportunities across Wales, delivering benefit for businesses, communities and citizens.

The opportunities for floating offshore wind in the Celtic sea alone offer opportunities for many thousands of good-quality jobs and tens of billions of pounds of local economic benefit. Working in partnership with private, public and community sector developers, infrastructure operators, skills providers and businesses, we can build a world-class renewables industry here in Wales. Setting these targets is a demonstration of our ambition, and I invite you all to work with us to make this vision a reality. Diolch.