The report shows continued positive progress in Wales, despite the difficult financial landscape that renewable energy developments currently have to negotiate. It finds that in 2022, 59 percent of energy consumption in Wales came from renewable energy, an increase of 4 percent points from 2021 and an encouraging increase on the Welsh Government’s progress towards its 2030 target of 70 percent renewable energy generation.
“We are very proud of the consistent and productive support that we have provided towards locally-owned renewable energy and the report reflects this by indicating that capacity and ownership in this sector has increased by 7 percentage points since the 2021 report” said Ms James in her statement. “. We can now boast an estimated 970MW of installed renewable energy as locally owned, 97 percent of our 2030 target. However, the renewable energy sector is suffering from insufficient financial support from the UK Government. We are in the midst of a climate change emergency and the signs are clear that unless we take urgent action we will do irreparable harm to our planet. We are, again, calling on the UK Government to implement a financial mechanism that will sufficiently encourage the market and not miss this opportunity to create a world-leading renewables industry that demonstrates the country’s commitment to net zero.”
Ms James added that some of the results of the UK Government’s missed opportunity on developing offshore renewable energy across the UK is already being seen and that by failing so comprehensively to respond to changing market conditions, the UK Government has called into question its grasp of the industrial opportunities marine and offshore wind represents.
“In Wales, we are committed to doing all that we can to reach our renewable energy targets as demonstrated by our announcement to refresh our renewable energy targets, including for us to meet the equivalent of 100 percent of our electricity needs from renewable sources by 2035” Ms James said. “Next year’s report will be the first that demonstrates the progress that we have begun to make towards our new targets. It is now more important than ever that we seize the chance to remove our reliance on fossil fuels and Welsh Government are committed to meeting this challenge while promoting the growth of a green jobs industry. The evidence is clear, we must make sure that we take this opportunity to create a sustainable future for this and future generations.”
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