Renewable Energy Sector Deal for Wales: comment

“The war in Iran has sent global gas prices soaring to their highest levels since the war in Ukraine, raising fears of another energy crisis – and once again demonstrating how our dependence on gas leaves us badly exposed to global headwinds outside of our control. Wales's energy imports, from the rest of the UK but also foreign actors like Putin and Trump, are only set to increase unless we start to reduce our demand for gas.  

"Helpfully, every solar panel and wind turbine we install reduces our exposure to volatility in energy markets – and wind alone reduced the UK's wholesale electricity prices by a third last year (2) – and, in the long term, lays the path towards genuine energy independence not controlled by global geopolitical events.

"With industry bodies warning that Wales is in danger of falling behind the rest of the UK when it comes to scaling up its new renewables capacity (3), the Middle East conflict is a sobering reminder of the benefits of speeding up the delivery of new renewables, insulating Welsh households from global energy price shocks, and boosting energy independence.”
 
ENDS