5. Will the Minister provide an update on Welsh Government support for the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon?  OQ59237

Diolch, Mike Hedges. There are currently no ongoing public sector projects proposed to build a tidal lagoon in Swansea bay. The First Minister will be making an announcement on the tidal lagoon challenge at the Marine Energy Wales conference, which is in Swansea, on 22 March.

Can I welcome that answer? When the Swansea tidal lagoon was rejected by the Conservative Westminster Government, gas prices were low, and expected by the Government to remain low for ever. As we all know, they got that wrong. We know that tidal energy is reliable and capable of solving some of our energy needs. We also know that it does not involve expensive decommissioning or have a limited life. What action is the Welsh Government taking to convince Westminster that this safe, clean energy, that is now cost-competitive, should be commissioned, and should be commissioned immediately?

Thank you very much, Mike. I completely concur with the sentiments of your question there. I won't be tempted into pre-announcing the First Minister's announcement on 22 March, but the Welsh Government absolutely supports tidal energy as a means to achieve our net-zero goals, as well as providing socioeconomic benefits. As you said, it provides clean, reliable energy, and we've made a programme for government commitment to make Wales a world centre of emerging tidal technologies. The surging wholesale price of gas, exacerbated by Russia's war in Ukraine, has indeed brought into sharp focus the need for an accelerated transition to renewables. It has both affected the price of gas and the availability of gas too. Clearly, what we need is a source of clean, reliable and secure energy, and we have this in abundance around our shores. 

Can I thank Mike Hedges for tabling this question, and also concur with him, not on his assessment of the UK Government, but on the benefits of tidal energy, particularly in Swansea bay? As the three of us, I think, proudly represent the city of Swansea—I think the best city on planet earth—we will know the benefits that the proposed lagoon, the Blue Eden project, could have for our city. But it's important to remember that it's not only a tidal lagoon: there's a high-tech battery plant as part of the Blue Eden project, a floating solar array, data storage, and waterfront homes for 5,000 people, as well as floating homes and a research centre. But considering the scale of the project and the excitement that it can generate for the city of Swansea, I haven't heard a lot from the Welsh Government. I appreciate that there's predominantly private sector investment, but I haven't heard a lot from the Welsh Government in terms of the practical support you've been providing. Can you just illustrate what concrete assistance your department is providing—to ensure planning obligations are met, for example, and adhered to—as well as whether any need for public funding at any point throughout the process has been discussed at all, so we can finally get that project off the ground?

The project hasn't asked for any support from the Government so far. We've made it plain to the project that, if they wanted to discuss any potential support with us, we're happy to do so. But as of this moment, they have not asked for that support. If they do want that support, then I'd be more than happy to discuss it with them. We have, of course, discussed with Swansea Council, and other affected councils—because it's not the only place in Wales that a tidal lagoon could go—many times what the planning obligations might be. I'm very pleased to see that the UK Government did allow, in round 4 of the last contract for difference, tidal energies to be included, and we're currently lobbying them hard to make sure that that stays, because that's a route to market for most emerging tidal technologies, including tidal lagoons. The UK Government, I think, really missed a trick—and I think your benches agree with us—when they didn't fund the last project in Swansea bay, so we've been urging them to make good that, and make sure that the contract for difference round includes tidal technologies of all sorts, so that those projects can be brought to market.