Plaid Cymru promises 100 percent electricity from renewables

A Plaid Cymru government will deliver 100 percent of Wales’ electricity from renewables, the party’s Shadow Energy Minister Llyr Gruffydd has announced.

Llyr Gruffydd said the Party of Wales (Plaid Cymru) will publish a route map towards generating 100 percent of Wales’ electricity needs from renewables by 2035 within 100 days of a Plaid Cymru government.

The announcement was made during Llyr Gruffydd’s visit to Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon.

The party’s Shadow Energy Minister highlighted that Wales is already a net exporter of electricity but only 10 percent is sourced from renewables, Plaid Cymru’s press release reads.

As part of the plan, Gruffydd said the party will outline targets for each individual sector, measures to encourage community ownership and, in order to reduce consumption, publish energy efficiency programme.

Llyr Gruffydd said: “Within the first 100 days of a Plaid Cymru government, I will publish a route map towards generating 100 percent of our electricity needs from renewable sources, detailing how and when each sector will contribute towards this target.

“Achieving self-sufficiency will require more than just increased renewable capacity however. It will also depend on a concerted effort to reduce energy consumption. As part of this effort, we will roll out the most wide-reaching, comprehensive retrofitting programme Wales has ever seen. This will create jobs, boost the economy, and it will mean cheaper heating bills and lower carbon emissions.

“The Tidal Lagoon proposals, in Swansea Bay and elsewhere in Wales are innovative and potentially transformatory for the Welsh energy sector and for the Welsh economy. We must ensure we extract as much benefit as possible from these projects, making sure local communities benefit from them and that the rest of the country is better off as a result.”

Image: Plaid Cymru