Plaid Cymru has published its manifesto for the UK General Election to be held on the 7th May. RenewableUK Cymru has generally welcomed the provisions within the manifesto relating to energy and climate change and believe they go some distance to addressing a number of concerns we and our membership have. The Party has committed to implementing a Climate Change Act for Wales, including a decarbonisation target, which we see as a supporting tool for renewable energy. Robust and deliverable targets, alongside a clear route map for achieving them will ensure that developers are able to plan and develop projects in the knowledge that there is a political will to achieve decarbonisation in Wales and an acceptance of the practicalities of delivering that.
We also endorse the Plaid position on increasing energy generation from renewable sources, but we think that they have missed the opportunity to support the best of our home-grown energy sources by focusing on hydro and tidal, and neglecting solar and wind which are more mature technologies, already able to be deployed cheaply and at scale, and are therefore likely to be a central component of our low carbon energy strategy. These technologies also have strong homegrown supply chains which should be supported and grown as many of the skills gained in these areas will transfer easily over to newer and more novel technologies as they develop.
Plaid Cymru’s concept of a not for dividend energy company is interesting, and we strongly encourage them to publish further details of what they envisage. At present we think the idea has merits and deserves exploration but are not in a position to judge the full impact or the practicality of implementing such a scheme. It is not uncommon for other European regional governments to own energy companies and there are examples that Wales could follow and build upon in developing such a scheme, alongside experiences gained from the Glas Cymru model of Welsh Water/Dwr Cymru.
If we wish to encourage roll out of renewable energy developments access to the grid is a key issue and therefore we endorse the position of requiring National Grid to prioritise renewable energy developments, but we would also wish to see the District Network Operators in Wales required to prioritise renewable energy developments in a similar way. Robust and future proof power grids are key to the successful deployment of renewable technologies and whilst Wales must have a grid able to meet its needs, it must also be able to integrate with a UK and European wide electricity grid, designed to support and balance renewables across the continent.
Finally, we agree that time and effort is best spent on renewables rather than on nuclear and fossil fuels (such as fracking) which are either too expensive, or do nothing for our climate or environment. In this light we support the commitment to encourage divestment from fossil fuels to renewable energy and think that Wales could lead the way in encouraging such a move, first within the public sector, and in ensuring that funds are spend on developing projects in Wales and developing the Welsh economy. The wide ranging benefits of developing projects in line with current Welsh Government ambitions are clear so why not go further?
Overall, we’ve given Plaid Cymru a 7/10. They score well for their commitment to decarbonisation and renewable energy, though lose a few points as we think they could have gone further in their ambitions and the party should also have recognised the technological realities facing us. We also hope to see more detailed and robust policy proposals from Plaid Cymru as a result of this manifesto, particularly in around the not for dividend model and their ideas about the shape of the electricity grid.