What assessment has the Welsh Government made of whether onshore wind is still necessary when the amount of energy to be generated by the current proposed Awel y Mor and Mona offshore wind farms and future Celtic Sea floating wind farms will more than meet the Welsh Government's targets?
The route to meeting our current target of generating the equivalent of 70% of our need by 2030 and our proposed 100% target by 2035 is ambitious. The consultation on revisions to our renewable energy targets sets out Wales’ pipeline of in-development projects and a credible deployment mix to meet the 2035 proposal. The evidence highlights the need for a variety of renewables, including onshore wind and solar in addition to offshore wind, to meet future demand. This is shown in page 31 of the Graphing Outputs document which can be accessed here:
Review of Wales’ renewable energy targets | GOV.WALES
The offshore wind industry is an exciting economic opportunity for Wales as well as an important source of green energy. However, floating offshore wind is in its infancy and there are risks and challenges to be overcome. Putting all our expectations on this emerging technology is not an appropriate response to the need for plentiful, affordable green electricity to support our net zero future.
We are also mindful that the demand for energy will increase substantially beyond 2035 with the continued electrification of transport, heating and industry. We will need to continue deploying a variety of renewable technologies to keep pace with demand. In all net zero pathways, renewable energy deployment must accelerate and be sustained for the next three decades – at a rate greater than that achieved over the last decade.