What assessment has the Minister made of the importance of the floating offshore wind industry in Wales?
The floating offshore wind industry, and the Crown Estate’s leasing round for 4.5 Gigawatts (GW) of floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea, has the potential to contribute to Wales targets to meet the equivalent of 100% of our annual electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2035, and to continue to keep pace with consumption thereafter.
The industry has the potential to contribute positively to our supply chains, our ports and create new jobs. However, without certainty on delivery timelines of the additional 12GW that the Chancellor announced in the Autumn Statement we will struggle to unlock private investment across the industry’s supply chain. The UK Government needs to provide more certainty to industry, it needs to legislate to provide essential borrowing and investment capabilities to the Crown Estate and devolve the powers of The Crown Estate to Welsh Ministers.