MS, Cabinet Secretary for the
Economy, Energy and Planning: The Welsh Government is committed
to creating jobs and driving sustainable, green growth to make
families in Wales more prosperous and to help with the cost of
living. I am today launching our Renewable Energy Sector Deal for
Wales, which will not only help to deliver that growth but
will also strengthen our future energy security.
Meeting our ambition to generate the equivalent of 100% of annual
electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2035, including
progress towards delivering at least 1.5 gigawatts of locally
owned renewable energy capacity by 2035, is central to this
Sector Deal. Equally important is our commitment to ensuring
that the economic, environmental and social benefits of renewable
energy deployment are retained in Wales through strengthened
supply chains, new skills pathways, high‑quality jobs and
enhanced opportunities for shared ownership and community benefit
programmes.
Our targets are challenging both in scale and in ambition, going
beyond a single‑technology focus to drive a whole‑system
transition. This Sector Deal formalises a new, strategic
partnership, bringing representatives from all sectors together
and providing a clear framework through which action can be taken
at pace, while ensuring that the economic and social benefits of
renewable deployment are retained in Wales. I am grateful to the
members of the Renewable Energy Task and Finish Group for their
collaboration in developing the Renewable Energy Sector Deal for
Wales.
The Sector Deal builds on the significant progress we have
already made to accelerate renewable energy deployment. We have
strengthened our planning and consenting capacity and established
an integrated consenting route through the Infrastructure (Wales)
Act 2024. Strategic energy and grid planning is progressing
through the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) and Wales's
contribution to the Centralised Strategic Network Plan, supported
by improved environmental evidence, digital tools such as DataMap
Wales, and early work to align future grid investment with
regional and local energy plans. Ports, supply‑chain mapping and
marine energy programmes are also helping to prepare industry for
the next wave of onshore, offshore, floating wind and tidal
development.
The successes for Wales in the recent Contracts for Difference
Allocation Round have demonstrated that our approaches are
providing a solid foundation for future renewable energy
developments, delivering the best results yet for renewables in
Wales. In total, Wales secured two offshore wind projects as well
as five onshore wind, twelve solar and three tidal energy
projects receiving a contractual guarantee for the price of the
electricity they generate, giving the go‑ahead for work to begin.
Wales secured 99.65% of all the tidal funding available. This
success has the potential to create thousands of high‑quality
green jobs and bring wider economic benefits to our economy.
The Sector Deal builds on this progress to identify action across
seven themes, aligned to the Well‑being of Future Generations
Act, to ensure Wales is able to meet the important targets for
2035. Although we are making progress, our target is essentially
a moving one as the demand for electricity will increase as
industry and transport decarbonise. We must therefore continue to
match our ambition with delivery.
Some actions set out in the Sector Deal will begin immediately
under this administration. While all commitments will ultimately
be subject to the priorities of the incoming administration, this
work is intended to provide a strong and well‑evidenced
foundation for the next Welsh Government. The Sector Deal has
been co‑produced by a Task and Finish Group of developers and
community organisations and will provide any administration with
clear evidence of the actions needed to retain benefits and
accelerate renewable energy deployment in Wales should they
choose to do so. A majority of the Task and Finish Group members
endorse the Sector Deal, and I am grateful to all members for
their time and commitment to this work.
