Clean Energy: Wales

The UK Labour Government are putting Wales at the forefront of their mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower, creating jobs, lowering energy bills and raising living standards for families across Wales. Only last month, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced £12.5 million of funding to support green advanced manufacturing and the National Net Zero Centre of Excellence for Skills in Port Talbot.

I call the Chair of the Select Committee.

Wales has a phenomenal tidal range, which promises green growth and industrial employment to Wales and beyond. The Severn estuary commission has completed its recommendations, and tidal lagoons are ready to go. What steps is the Secretary of State taking with other Cabinet colleagues to ensure that tidal plays a prominent role in the transition to clean energy?

The Government remain open to well-developed proposals for harnessing tidal range energy. The National Energy System Operator has launched a research innovation project to model the impacts and value of tidal range. I am pleased to tell my hon. Friend that we expect the report from that work tomorrow, and will consider its findings. More broadly, Wales has huge potential for green jobs. In April, the Prime Minister announced a £300 million boost for Great British Energy to invest in offshore wind supply, and Wales is well placed to benefit from that.

Wales has an enormous role to play in the roll-out of green and clean energy, which will benefit all the residents of Wales and the UK. What steps is the Minister taking to roll out this important work in Wales?

Wales has a huge role to play in our clean energy mission and has excellent resources and a skilled workforce. We are supporting innovative renewable technologies, such as the tidal stream on Anglesey and floating offshore wind in the Celtic sea, which has the potential to deliver up to 5,000 new jobs.

Diolch yn fawr, Mr Llefarydd. Green energy deserves green transmission, so will the Minister commit to undergrounding any new electric transmission in Wales?

I commend the hon. Member for her campaigning on this issue, but as I am sure she understands, the cost of undergrounding is significant. We have said clearly that our position is that overhead lines should generally be the starting presumption, except for in nationally designated landscapes.

People of all ages welcome Wales’s role in making this country a clean energy superpower, but pensioners in particular had to go through last winter freezing cold, and tens of thousands went to A&E. Will the Minister, who we all know is a decent Labour Front Bencher, do what the Chancellor refused to do, and apologise to those pensioners who lost the winter fuel allowance when they needed it most?

I should just remind the House that we did maintain the triple lock, which gave pensioners a boost of over £400 this spring. As the right hon. Gentleman well knows, pensioners will again benefit from the winter fuel allowance.