Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:03 pm on 24 January 2023.
Thank you, Minister, for the statement. I was pleased to hear what you said about the Crown Estate. If we're going to have an obsession, I would say that having an obsession about having a better and more prosperous future for Wales is a good place to start, to be honest. So, I would associate myself with a number of things that you said about that, because we do have in Wales so much potential in terms of renewable resources, but there are also so many long-standing barriers that need to be recognised before Wales can realise that potential, and we've heard already about one of them.
Over a decade ago, the Welsh Government pledged that you'd take action, but we're still waiting to see the fruits of some of the promises made. There is much to praise, but there is also some frustration about the delays as well. The Welsh Government has a target to see Wales meeting 70 per cent of its electricity demand from renewable sources by 2030. But according to the Welsh Government's annual 'Energy Generation in Wales' report last year, the amount of electricity that we use has increased more rapidly than the amount of renewable electricity that's produced in Wales. The percentage of electricity that's used in Wales and that is created through renewable sources has fallen from 56 per cent in 2020 to 55 per cent in 2021. And when we look at the following year, 2022, considering that we faced the after-effects of the pandemic, as well as the cost-of-living crisis and the effects of the international crisis in Ukraine, what impact do you think that these major changes will have on our use of electricity? What impact will that have on our ability to achieve our targets?
We, as a party, have criticised the Government in the past for the slow progress that has been made in this area. When do you think this trend will change or be reversed? I would like it, Minister, if you could set out the milestones that you anticipate that we would be able to pass on the journey towards meeting those targets, please.
Perhaps the biggest barrier of all is our energy grid. You've already mentioned this: the network of pylons, power lines and connections that serve the British energy system. Last week, the First Minister suggested that he would like to see the national grid come under public control. He talked about the huge sums of money that go to shareholders and the backlog of almost 700 renewable energy projects that are still waiting for the grid to find capacity for them. Does the Welsh Government intend to make the case for public control of the national grid? Have you or your officials held discussions with the Westminster Government about nationalising the grid? What impact, finally, do you think that that would have on our ability to achieve our renewable energy targets? Thank you.