Rebecca Evans MS, Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Energy and Planning
The Welsh Government is committed to creating jobs and driving sustainable, green growth to make families in Wales more prosperous and to help with the cost of living. I am today launching our Renewable Energy Sector Deal for Wales, which will not only help to deliver that growth but will also strengthen our future energy security.
Meeting our ambition to generate the equivalent of 100% of annual electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2035, including progress towards delivering at least 1.5 gigawatts of locally owned renewable energy capacity by 2035, is central to this Sector Deal. Equally important is our commitment to ensuring that the economic, environmental and social benefits of renewable energy deployment are retained in Wales through strengthened supply chains, new skills pathways, high‑quality jobs and enhanced opportunities for shared ownership and community benefit programmes.
Our targets are challenging both in scale and in ambition, going beyond a single‑technology focus to drive a whole‑system transition. This Sector Deal formalises a new, strategic partnership, bringing representatives from all sectors together and providing a clear framework through which action can be taken at pace, while ensuring that the economic and social benefits of renewable deployment are retained in Wales. I am grateful to the members of the Renewable Energy Task and Finish Group for their collaboration in developing the Renewable Energy Sector Deal for Wales.
The Sector Deal builds on the significant progress we have already made to accelerate renewable energy deployment. We have strengthened our planning and consenting capacity and established an integrated consenting route through the Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024. Strategic energy and grid planning is progressing through the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) and Wales’s contribution to the Centralised Strategic Network Plan, supported by improved environmental evidence, digital tools such as DataMap Wales, and early work to align future grid investment with regional and local energy plans. Ports, supply‑chain mapping and marine energy programmes are also helping to prepare industry for the next wave of onshore, offshore, floating wind and tidal development.
The successes for Wales in the recent Contracts for Difference Allocation Round have demonstrated that our approaches are providing a solid foundation for future renewable energy developments, delivering the best results yet for renewables in Wales. In total, Wales secured two offshore wind projects as well as five onshore wind, twelve solar and three tidal energy projects receiving a contractual guarantee for the price of the electricity they generate, giving the go‑ahead for work to begin. Wales secured 99.65% of all the tidal funding available. This success has the potential to create thousands of high‑quality green jobs and bring wider economic benefits to our economy.
The Sector Deal builds on this progress to identify action across seven themes, aligned to the Well‑being of Future Generations Act, to ensure Wales is able to meet the important targets for 2035. Although we are making progress, our target is essentially a moving one as the demand for electricity will increase as industry and transport decarbonise. We must therefore continue to match our ambition with delivery.
Some actions set out in the Sector Deal will begin immediately under this administration. While all commitments will ultimately be subject to the priorities of the incoming administration, this work is intended to provide a strong and well‑evidenced foundation for the next Welsh Government. The Sector Deal has been co‑produced by a Task and Finish Group of developers and community organisations and will provide any administration with clear evidence of the actions needed to retain benefits and accelerate renewable energy deployment in Wales should they choose to do so. A majority of the Task and Finish Group members endorse the Sector Deal, and I am grateful to all members for their time and commitment to this work.