New jobs and investment are set to come to Wales as the UK
Government today unveils ambitious plans to scale up affordable,
clean, homegrown power and build thriving green industries in
Britain.
After decades of reliance on importing expensive, foreign fossil
fuels, the Government is delivering a radical shift in our energy
system towards cleaner, more affordable energy sources to power
more of Britain from Britain.
New green technologies, set to be developed and deployed here in
the Wales including carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) and
hydrogen, will spearhead the government’s new Energy Security
Plan.
As part of this, is announcing £160 million of
new funding for pilot projects to build the port infrastructure
needed to support further floating offshore wind, through the
Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme. This
scheme will support investment in the infrastructure needed to
meet the UK’s ambition of up to 5GW of floating offshore wind by
2030, supported by a substantial pipeline of potential projects
in the Celtic sea.
Today, the UK Government confirmed Hanson Padeswood Cement Works
carbon capture and storage project – based in the North Wales
region – as one of eight projects to be taken forward to
negotiations to form the basis of the UK’s new CCUS clusters.
This announcement follows the confirmation in the Spring Budget
of £20 billion for CCUS, future-proofing jobs in the industrial
heartlands, including the North Sea, contributing to a half a
million new green jobs set to be created and supported across the
country.
CCUS is a key pillar to the UK’s path to net zero – recognised by
the independent Committee on Climate Change as a necessity – and
the country’s geography means it has capacity to permanently
store carbon emissions taken from our air deep underground and at
sea.
Prime Minister said:
Thanks to our unique geography and strong expertise in clean
technology, the UK is well placed to create thriving new
industries in carbon capture, hydrogen and floating offshore wind
across the country.
By investing in new ways to power Britain from Britain, we will
not only strengthen our long-term energy security, but also
deliver on our promise to grow the economy with well-paid jobs
and opportunities for businesses to export their expertise around
the world.
Energy Security and Net Zero Minister said:
Wales will be at the heart of our plans to power up Britain, as
we support its development of new home-grown technologies of the
future.
Today’s announcement will create opportunities for welsh
businesses to export their expertise around the world and set the
standard for a clean, secure and prosperous future.
Secretary of State for Wales David TC Davies said:
The UK Government’s Energy Security plan is ambitious and
contains fantastic news for the whole of Wales. We know that
there is huge potential in the Celtic Sea for floating offshore
wind and we have the best sites for new nuclear developments.
The UK Government is supporting plans for the Celtic Sea to
deliver enough clean, secure electricity for 4 million homes by
2035. Today we’ve announced £160m of government funding to
kickstart investment in building the infrastructure in ports to
allow them to deliver this innovative source of renewable energy.
The establishment of Great British Nuclear will support our
ambition to ramp up nuclear capacity in the UK to a quarter of
our energy demand by 2050. I am eager to see nuclear energy
brought back to Wales and the development of a floating offshore
wind industry, creating jobs, spreading growth and prosperity and
securing our energy supply.
The UK Government has also set an ambition for 10GW of hydrogen
production by 2030 – which could generate enough clean
electricity to power all of London for a year.
Wales will be central to these plans, where one of the first
successful applicants to the £240 million Net Zero Hydrogen Fund
will be located. Fifteen projects will be awarded grant funding
of £37.9m to support the development and deployment of new low
carbon hydrogen production plants. Hydrogen will play an
important role in helping intensive industries such as chemicals,
steel and cement convert to using clean energy.
The successful project is Statkraft’s Trecwn Green Hydrogen
Valley project. It plans to build a 15MW electrolyser system to
produce green hydrogen, using the region’s excellent wind and
solar resources to produce a sustainable fuel for transport and
other industrial application.
Alongside this, three companies based in Wales have been
shortlisted to proceed to the next stage of the first
electrolytic hydrogen Allocation round (HAR1).
These are:
- RES and Octopus Green Hydrogen
- Marubeni Europower
- H2 energy and Trafigura
Today’s plans will help deliver on the Prime Minister’s promise
to grow the economy across Wales, supporting new green jobs,
creating a strategic advantage in new clean industries, and
generating opportunities for Welsh businesses to export their
expertise around the world.
