P-06-1383 Pause onshore wind & solar projects >10MW until the full potential of off-shore wind is included

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This petition was submitted by Carys Matthews, having collected 5,351 signatures online and 3,747 signatures on paper, making for a total of 9,098 signatures.

Text of Petition:                    

To prevent widescale and needless damage to the Welsh countryside, we call upon the Welsh Government to place a temporary moratorium on all onshore wind and ground based solar developments over 10MW, until Future Wales 2040 and the Welsh Government’s renewable energy targets are updated and incorporated with Wales Marine Energy to ensure that the full potential of offshore wind, rooftop solar, and other emerging energy sources is recognised as a critical priority to combat climate change.

Additional Information

Wales presently produces 30 Terra Watt hours (TWh) of energy (55% of that from renewables) whilst using only 14TWh, however, demand is estimated to increase to 45TWh by 2050.

Wales has massive potential for far offshore wind (both fixed and floating) with projects proposed for offshore wind projects, in the Irish and Celtic Sea combined forecast to generate at least 100 TWh of energy.

Estimates also calculate that up to 50% of Wales energy consumption could be met through rooftop solar on houses, businesses, and covered car parks.

Yet neither the full potential of offshore wind nor rooftop solar is being calculated into Welsh Government policy. The Minister for Climate Change admitted to CPRW it wasn’t, stating that their policy document, Future Wales, had not been updated in three years. We call for policy to be updated to include the full potential of offshore wind, rooftop solar and other emerging technologies to ensure we sacrifice the least amount of countryside and farmland.

Status

This petition was considered completed by the Petitions Committee at its meeting on 11/12/2023.

The Committee considered the petition and noted that the Ministers’ response to the Committee was clear and that they do not support a moratorium. Members concluded that in light of this, the Committee could not take the issue raised in the petition further and agreed to close the petition.

Full details of the consideration of this petition by the Committee and related documents can be seen on the Meetings tab above.

It was first considered by the Petitions Committee on 11/12/2023.

Senedd Constituency and Region

• Montgomeryshire
• Mid and West Wales

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