The Welsh Government has announced that it has published a consultation on targets for the country to get all of its electricity supply from renewable energy sources by 2035.
Currently, 55% of Wales’ electricity is coming from renewable sources, however the Climate Change Minister has set a new target of at least 1.5 GigaWatt of renewable energy capacity to be locally owned by 2035, with this excluding heat pumps. Alongside this, there is also a second target of 5.5 GigaWatt of renewable energy capacity to be produced by heat pumps by 2035, however this is subject to technology cost reductions and an increase in the support from the UK Government.
Julie James, Climate Change Minister, said:
“Our previous targets signalled our high ambitions for renewable energy and this Government’s desire to move away from a use of, and reliance on, fossil fuels.
“However, the climate crisis shows that we cannot afford to rest on our laurels. Providing new targets compels us to stride towards Net Zero as quickly as we can.
The evidence is clear that towards the end of this decade we will need to rapidly ramp up our generation of electricity to meet our energy needs.
“The renewable energy target proposals that we are consulting on today are ambitious, but credible.
“I am very pleased that they propose a pathway for us to meet the equivalent of 100% of our annual electricity consumption from renewable electricity by 2035, and to continue to keep pace with consumption thereafter.
“This investment signals, to both the industry and the UK Government, Welsh Government’s commitment to the floating wind sector. It also provides important funding for the infrastructure that we will need to deliver floating wind to meet our ambitions.
“Of course, this is not the end of our support, and we will continue to work closely with Port Talbot, Milford Haven Port Authority and colleagues in the Celtic Sea Alliance to maximise the benefits of floating wind to Wales.”
Wales’ infrastructure and supply chain is to prove crucial to the meeting of these targets, as well as partnership with Associated British Ports. This partnership will match a £1 million funding grant to explore the potential of offshore wind, as well as helping with the preparatory work that will enable floating offshore wind projects to deploy from Wales in the future.
