The Conservatives published their election manifesto on Monday, the penultimate document in the series (we have already covered UKIP, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and Plaid Cymru).

The manifesto is fairly light on the subject of energy, although it’s not as weak as the UKIP manifesto which doesn’t mention the word once in the whole document.

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The 2015 General Election proved successful for the Conservatives in Wales. Will this manifesto persuade the people of Wales to trust them?

The headline commitments are:

  • Introduce a ‘Healthy Homes, Healthy People’ energy efficiency programme for the fuel-poor
  • Develop a marine energy strategy to promote Wales as a location for pioneering viable tidal lagoon development
  • Scrap planning guidance which promotes cumulative impact and over-dependence on wind farms, and encourage a variety of renewable energy production
  • Publish a strategy on carbon economic planning to provide green jobs for the future
  • Implement annual reviews of carbon emissions in Wales
  • Secure the devolution of responsibility for fracking
  • Work with the construction industry to upgrade skills and prioritise appropriate retrofitting

The document is absent any evidence for some of the assertions – for example that Wales is currently over-dependent on wind farms – and also any detail about how other renewable energy types would be promoted.

Speaking about the manifesto, David Clubb said:

“Onshore wind is cheap, reliable, predictable and creates jobs, economic activity and community benefits across Wales. The Conservatives want to see a vibrant economy and to keep electricity bills as low as possible while tackling climate change. This means that onshore wind has a central role to play in our future energy mix as part of a balanced mix.

“The promotion of Wales’ superb marine renewable resource is welcome – tidal lagoons offer an unprecedented opportunity to create big pioneering projects which will bring industrial-scale benefits. Overall, we think the Tories could – and should – be even more ambitious in what they’re asking the renewable energy sector to provide – and we’re ready to rise to that challenge”.