Source · Select Committees · Welsh Affairs Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 62
The Committee welcomes that Celtic Sea projects have been included in the list of infrastructure...
Conclusion
The Committee welcomes that Celtic Sea projects have been included in the list of infrastructure projects in the UK Government’s Growth Plan and notes the recent decision by The Crown Estate to seek to accelerate the leasing process where possible. This appears only to be possible in Wales if improvement to grid infrastructure is also accelerated and we would welcome a clear commitment from the UK Government on this point.
Government Response Summary
The Government recognises different regions have different challenges and is taking various actions to support stakeholder engagement and coordinated and strategic electricity grid network design, citing Welsh Government representation on OTNR governance forums and direct engagement with the Welsh Government.
Paragraph Reference:
62
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Government recognises that across the whole of Britain’s electricity network, different regions have different challenges and opportunities and that these often require different solutions. The Government is also conscious that each part of Britain and its network challenges feed into the wider grid and so it must be viewed as a whole. The Government is taking various actions to support stakeholder engagement and coordinated and strategic electricity grid network design. For example, the Welsh Government is represented on the main OTNR governance forums: the Project Board and the Working Group, both of which meet monthly, and feed into the HND which identifies key projects to support the roll-out of offshore wind. Direct engagement with Welsh Government took place in support of the HND delivered in July and is ongoing for the HND Follow Up Exercise. The Welsh Government also continues to be a member the Central Design Group, which supports the ESO in their work in this space. BEIS will continue to engage with the Devolved Administrations both as we work to deliver the projects included in the HND and the HND Follow Up Exercise, and on the development of subsequent strategic network planning exercises.