When it comes to tackling the climate crisis, the Welsh Government has got the wind in its sails. But expanding renewable energy in Wales won’t happen without a focused effort to remove barriers and promote genuine partnerships with Welsh firms.
Over the last three decades, I’ve worked closely with governments across the UK. I’ve run three renewable development companies, and I’ve had the privilege of working with some brilliant and talented people. As a champion of community interests and voluntary causes, I am also a trustee of the Community Foundation; which manages a fund for my wife and me which aims to financially support individuals and groups making an extraordinary difference.
I’ve always been passionate about the environment, whether that’s helping people live greener lives by building eco-friendly homes or helping to decarbonise our electricity supply through on-shore wind and solar. As a Welshman, running a successful Wales-based company, it fills me with pride to see our collective efforts tackling the climate emergency recognised internationally.
At Wind 2, we’re working hard on three exciting projects in Wales that could generate over 320 megawatt of clean, green energy – energy to power over 280,000 homes for a year, equivalent to the domestic needs of a fifth of Welsh households.
The reason why we need to radically scale-up renewable energy is clear. Unless there are immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in this decade, we are likely to miss the target of keeping the average global warming rise to below 1.5 degrees. We’re already witnessing the devastating impact of climate change, and if we exceed 1.5 degrees the consequences for future generations will be dire.
And the ‘slow-burn’ climate emergency is now exacerbated by the more immediate cost of living and energy security crises. It is oil and gas that is driving up the wholesale price of electricity, creating a volatile and insecure market. Building home-grown renewables not only enables us to reach net zero but crucially, provides Wales with a source of energy the cost of which is low and predictable.
I’m encouraged by the creation of a Welsh Government climate change ministry, a single department bringing together the key levers that will help drive down Wales’ emissions. The appointment of ‘can do’ ministers like Julie James and Lee Waters gives me confidence that Welsh Government is committed to moving beyond words and delivering real action. Last year, Wind 2 took part in the Welsh Government ‘deep dive’ into renewable energy, and whilst the inquiry’s conclusions could have been more definitive and detailed, we now have the beginnings of a route map for moving things forward.
But momentum risks stalling and moving forward, Welsh Government must work closely with industry to unleash the untapped potential of on-shore wind and utility scale solar. I’m confident that through a Team Wales approach, one where Welsh Government works in partnership with firms like my own, we can meet our climate obligations and objectives. So if we’re to keep up the momentum, what needs to happen?
Sorting the national grid
First, we need to fix the grid. That means sorting out grid capacity (so it can handle more electricity) and extending the grid network (so new renewable energy schemes can hook up to the network). It’s been well documented that in parts of mid and north Wales we risk “grid deserts”, whole areas where grid connections are absent. This matters to businesses like Wind 2 where we need to connect up to the grid to transmit the 320 megawatt we hope to operate annually. It’s also a problem for households because as we decarbonise more aspects of our lives more things will need electricity. This will place added strain on an already creaking network and unless we solve the problem, other knock-on issues will arise. The transition to more electric vehicles will stall if the grid in rural Wales isn’t up to the increased demand.
The forthcoming National Energy Plan and the work of the ‘Wales systems architect’ – a role that will oversee the support to make sure action is taken – must ensure our future grid needs are forecasted on a timeframe longer than 10 years. Without a decent forecast of what we need the grid to do in the longer term, we could be back to square one with grid problems within this decade. Whilst control of the grid is complex, the Welsh Government does have an important role to play. One option could be for Welsh Government to fund those improvements in grid capacity and connectivity themselves, through an innovative mutual investment model used elsewhere across government, and recouping the costs from developers as new projects come online.
Community benefits
Second, we need to maximise the benefit of wind schemes for local communities. One route is through the local community owning a share of local schemes. At Wind 2, we typically offer local communities up to a 10% stake in our projects, but like all investments, this requires investors to have the funds upfront.
This is not without its challenges, but Welsh Government could provide interest-free or low-interest loans for communities, as the Scottish Government has. Another option would be to maximise the benefits but stop short of the local community owning shares. At Wind 2 our community benefits fund provides £5,000 per MW generated each year for local communities. Our 320 megawatt pipeline has the potential to give up to £1.6m each year as a zero-risk benefit for surrounding communities to improve local facilities, invest in low carbon initiatives etc.
National impact
Thirdly, another way of supporting community ownership - at a national level - is the creation of Ynni Cymru. One key recommendation of the deep dive, and now a programme of government commitment following the recent cooperation agreement between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru is the formation of a national energy body for Wales. The exact role and remit have yet to be determined, but the new body could play one of several important roles.
Such a body could take a lead in fixing the grid, or act on behalf of the Welsh Government to provide finance for community ownership. On the development front, the new body could work with Welsh developers like Wind 2 to develop exemplar projects and play a more active investor partner role in new schemes. Depending on the nature of the scheme, Ynni Cymru could take a stake in the ownership of schemes and generate a return on its investment.
Public land
And fourth, we can better utilise publicly owned land. Natural Resources Wales alone manages 7% of land in Wales, but has paused releasing any further land rights for development until Ynni Cymru is off the ground. This pause needs to be lifted as it is restricting available land for development which will have a massive impact on the pipeline of projects coming forward, at the very time we need to be accelerating renewable development activity.
So the time is now to seize this opportunity. Team Wales, with ambitious investment from the Welsh Government, is ready to step up and deliver a greener supply of energy for the people of Wales. As a Wales-based developer with the expertise and enthusiasm to join the renewable energy challenge for Team Wales, we’re ready to play our part.
- Gerry Jewson is chair of Mold-based Wind 2, a specialist onshore renewable energy developer. A former member of the Welsh Government energy and environment sector Panel, Gerry lives in North Wales and is a trustee of Community Foundation Wales. He writes in a personal capacity.
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