AM urges WAG to bid for share of £120million wind investment

Shadow Minister for the Environment and Sustainability, Mick Bates AM, is calling on the Welsh Government to bid for a share of the £120million investment announced under the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan to support the growth of a world-leading offshore wind industry in Britain.

The UK Government has committed to invest £120million over the next two years to support the growth of offshore wind. So far £4.4m has been granted to Clipper Windpower to develop offshore wind turbines in Northumberland, £1.1m to Siemens Wind Power to develop power converters for their larger offshore turbine and £1m to Artemis Intelligent Power to transfer existing technology from automotive to wind energy.

Commenting, Welsh Liberal Democrat Mick Bates stated:

“Investment in the wind industry is crucial if we are to have any hope of reaching our targets on renewable energy. In Wales we have seen only 102.5MW of additional onshore wind power since Tan 8 came into operation in 2005, which means we are over 80% behind our target for 2010 with only a few months left.

“I have long argued that the renewable energy industry will be the source of future prosperity in Wales, bringing investment into our local communities and economies, but we need to see real action and investment in Wales to stimulate the demand and supply of renewable energy.

“I urge the Welsh Government to bid for a share of the £120m funding, so that we can see new renewable energy businesses establish in Wales bringing with them the jobs that are so crucially needed.”