Select committee: Welsh Affairs Committee
Conclusion 2
Second Report - Renewable energy in Wales
Published 29 Jul 2021
Paragraph 24
Addressed to Wales Office
Welsh Affairs Committee Renewable energy in Wales All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Over the course of our inquiry we heard significant demand from energy companies for additional seabed leases to be made available. These leases are essential to the development of offshore energy generation in Welsh waters. We therefore welcome the recent announcement from The Crown Estate of a new leasing opportunity for early commercial-scale floating wind projects in the Celtic Sea. This new leasing opportunity will be particularly significant for the marine sector in Wales and, through its focus on projects of circa 300MW in scale, will be an important step towards the UK Government’s ambition to deliver 1 GW of floating wind by 2030.
From: Welsh Affairs Committee, Second Report - Renewable energy in Wales (HC 439), paragraph 24, 29 July 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 26 October 2021 (deadline 29 September 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government says it "remains firmly committed to the renewables industry across the UK, including in Wales" and responds to each recommendation by setting out existing policy and activity, with several matters left to independent bodies.
- On seabed leasing, it says this is the responsibility of The Crown Estate, which is "independent of the UK Government", and notes that TCE has confirmed its intention to hold a new floating offshore wind leasing round in the Celtic Sea.
- On small-scale generation tariffs, it states "We believe that the market should determine prices" and says the Government will review an annual Ofgem report on the Smart Export Guarantee to monitor whether the market is delivering.
- On grid constraints, it says regulation is a matter for Ofgem and that Government supports Ofgem's work to enable investment ahead of need "where the need is sufficiently certain to justify this".
- On a Welsh freeport, it says "We remain committed to establishing a Freeport in Wales as soon as possible."