Offshore Wind Generation (North Wales)

Albert Owen Excerpts

Wednesday 24th October 2012 Westminster Hall

[Albert Owen (Ynys Môn) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alan. I am pleased to sponsor this important debate, and I welcome the Minister. As I am a member of the Energy and Climate Change Committee, I am sure that he and I will be working together on many issues over the coming weeks and months. I pay tribute to his predecessor, the hon. Member for Wealden (Charles Hendry), a Minister who was respected by people right across the energy sector, from industrialists to environmentalists, and with whom I worked well. He visited north Wales, and came to see the Anglesey energy island concept, and I am sure that I will be inviting the new Minister to come along to see the progress that has been made.

I know that the new Minister will make his mark over the coming months. He has already given us a very entertaining performance, in his response to urgent questions last week, and we look forward to more of that style and, we hope, to some answers to questions. I am sure that he will have the opportunity today to answer some important questions pertaining to low-carbon energy in north Wales.

To be fair to the Minister, he has a chequered history when it comes to wind generation, and I hope that today he can clarify his position, together with that of the Government, and tell us whether wind generation now passes his two tests of economic and environmental sustainability. To be fair to him again, he sent us a letter only on Monday, outlining the Government’s support for renewables, which I presume includes wind generation. I am sure that he will be able to clarify the position on those things in his winding-up speech.

I want to make my own position absolutely crystal clear. I am pro-nuclear, pro-renewables, including wind generation, and pro-energy efficiency, and I have never seen any contradiction between those three things. We need all three if we are to reach the goals that we all want: energy security and the decarbonisation of industry.

[Mark Tami (Alyn and Deeside) (Lab)]

I agree totally with my hon. Friend. Does he agree that in the past the argument has wrongly been seen as a choice between renewables—such as wind—and nuclear, when they are part of the same package?

[Albert Owen]

Yes, I absolutely agree. I am sure the Minister will acknowledge this later too: we should not be either/or; we need all the options. We need the base load that nuclear can provide, along with clean coal and gas, but we also need the flexibility that renewables give us, and I hope to develop that argument today.

As I say, I see no contradiction here. If we are to create the vibrant low-carbon economy that the UK wants, energy security, along with food security, is probably the most important challenge that this Government and Governments around the world will face in the future. North Wales is—I will argue that it can continue to be—a major contributor to a low-carbon future. My own constituency of Ynys Môn—the Isle of Anglesey—has been in the vanguard of nuclear generation for more than 40 years, and there are plans for a new replacement station at Wylfa. The island also has early wind farms, comprising of some 77 turbines—from the 1980s and 1990s—in the north of the island. There are plans for a tidal array at the Skerries, and footprints for two biomass plants, so no one can accuse my constituency and its people of not contributing to our energy needs or to the rich energy mix that we want in the future. I support the concept of Anglesey becoming Britain’s energy island, and I hope to invite—I am sure that I will formally invite —the Minister along to see the energy island programme and meet its director, John Idris Jones, and his team, to see how we can take this forward, with local government, local businesses and the Welsh and UK Governments working together.

Given what I have just said, I do not believe that I can be accused of being an “environmental Taliban”. The Chancellor likes to joke about such things, but he should not poke fun at people who want a balanced energy mix that includes renewables, as well as coal, gas and nuclear. Indeed, I do not understand why he made his remarks, because that is his Government’s policy. It was also the policy of the previous Government, so there has been consensus and continuity. Businesses and consumers tell me that they want clarity and continuity on energy policy, so that north Wales and the United Kingdom can become the centre of excellence that we want to see.

The purpose of this debate is to highlight the pros and cons, to focus the attention of Government, at all levels, on providing certainty for investment and to create the high skills and the low-carbon energy sector that can deliver in the future.

[Ian Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

I am delighted that my hon. Friend has secured this debate. He mentioned certainty, and uncertainty is the enemy of long-term investment. Does he agree that one of the problems with the present Government is the incoherence and uncertainty that is causing long-term investors such as Siemens to reconsider investment in the UK, because of the lack of clarity about Government policy?

[Albert Owen]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We have just come from a meeting of industrialists, and they highlighted that very point. The Aluminium Federation was present, and it said that international companies are considering pulling out of the UK because of uncertainty about the future. The Minister will be aware of that, and he will try to work with others to allay the fears and create the confidence needed for the future. It is not warm words that will heat our homes or drive industry, but action, and we need to see that.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I am grateful for the opportunity to be involved in this debate. The hon. Gentleman referred to jobs in Wales; other parts of the United Kingdom will also gain greatly. In my Northern Ireland constituency, Harland and Wolff will benefit from jobs that come from the wind turbines in Wales. There are benefits for the whole United Kingdom: is that what the hon. Gentleman is saying?

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[Albert Owen]

Certainly, and if the hon. Gentleman is patient I will lay out the benefits. I want to see a centre of excellence in north Wales, but the supply chain will involve the whole United Kingdom. There will be downstream jobs, and I want to see those jobs within the United Kingdom, rather than in continental Europe, for example. Large shipments can come into north Wales, the north of Ireland and the north of England from other parts of Europe. I want to see the skills base here in the United Kingdom developed and capable of maintaining highly skilled jobs. The hon. Gentleman need not fear. We are not being parochial; we are being very pro the United Kingdom.

North Wales has an abundance of resources. It has the natural resources that are needed for hydro and wind generation and, importantly, it has a skills base in many of its industries. The Minister is au fait with the skills agenda, and the skills in north Wales are transferable from the aerospace, car and other industries into the new exciting wind-generation and renewables agenda for the future.

[Mark Tami]

Does my hon. Friend agree that, although we have the skills base, if the certainty is not there or people do not see it, they will look for jobs in other sectors and that that will be a loss to the energy sector?

[Albert Owen]

My hon. Friend is right, and he echoes the remarks made by my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham (Ian Lucas). We need that certainty, and we need stability and a strategy for the future, and I hope that the Minister will note that and address it in his remarks.

We have an important skills base in north Wales linked to colleges and universities. Coleg Menai in my constituency has adapted an energy centre, which is creating a skills base in construction. Many of those skills were lost over many years, so offshore wind is not only about generation, but about the construction and manufacturing jobs of the future. The colleges are linking up. The energy centre was created by the Welsh Government in conjunction with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the local authority, and it works with local colleges to provide young people with those skills and to give them hope for the future.

As I am sure that the Minister knows, Anglesey was chosen by the Welsh Government as an energy enterprise zone, which is important for concentrating minds on north-west Wales and on north Wales in general. In north Wales, we have good universities at Glyndwr and Bangor and a number of good colleges, many of which are involved. Bangor university has a school of ocean science, which is a world leader in marine energy. So when I talk about wind and renewable energies, I am talking about not only manufacturing and construction, but future research and development and being world leaders in new technologies as they appear. The school of ocean science is a world leader in climate change patterns, too, and we have to merge those things to make the area a centre of excellence.

I will not duck the issue: wind energy is controversial, although offshore wind is less controversial than onshore wind. Offshore wind turbines are less obstructive than turbines on land, and their size and noise are mitigated by their distance from communities. Obviously, that brings its own challenge, but aesthetics is an issue for many people. When people talk about the technology, they are often in favour of wind generation, but when they talk about location, issues are raised and many people are opposed. The planning system—it is difficult for any Minister to tackle this—polarises people’s opinions. People have to be either for or against wind generation, and we do not have a mature dialogue on future needs and the benefits that wind generation can bring to local communities.

Wind is controversial, and I believe Anglesey has had its fair share of onshore wind development. Given the sheer size and scale of the new turbines, they are best placed out at sea. Residents on Anglesey are not nimbys in any way and want to be part of the future of wind generation, but wind turbines should be offshore because of their large scale.

I pay tribute to a group of residents on Anglesey who have campaigned against the ad hoc development of wind generation, which is a problem in many communities. The only beneficiaries of onshore wind are the landowners and/or developers, not the communities; whereas offshore wind will have a combined benefit for the larger community.

[Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire) (Con)]

The hon. Gentleman knows that the subject is close to my heart because of the impact on my constituency. Does he accept that the real issue is scale? Whether in Anglesey or Montgomeryshire, the issue is the sheer numbers. What has been proposed for my constituency is virtually a desecration of the area, as is simply the case with onshore wind. I welcome this opportunity to associate myself with his remarks, because he is also challenging the scale, which destroys areas.

[Albert Owen]

Yes, I agree. Aesthetics and scale are big issues that we need to address. I am not only concentrating on that problem but considering solutions for the future. We have an abundance of wind, which is a proven technology, but it has to be in the right place. As the hon. Gentleman says, the scale has to be right for the area. I will develop that point.

I support microgeneration, and it is sensible in rural areas that isolated properties, farms and working communities have a source of electricity and that any surplus goes to the grid, but I oppose large-scale onshore wind generation. I hope that I am putting that in its right context.

As a member of the Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change, I visited DONG Energy in Ramsgate and saw the scale of the London array and some of the areas down in the Thames estuary, where large-scale wind development has taken place. We flew over the developments to see their scale, and we took advantage of the opportunity to fly over the Olympic village when we came in to land in central London. The sheer scale needs to be close to a working port, and those ports need the necessary infrastructure.

Following decisions by the previous Labour Government, north Wales has great potential for offshore wind. Gwynt y Môr, which I think will be the largest site in Europe, is under construction by RWE npower and its partners. On completion, Gwynt y Môr will have an output of some 576 MW. Gwynt y Môr is close to the already-developed North Hoyle and Rhyl Flats offshore wind farms, which are a major hub for wind and renewable resources.

[Jim Shannon]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way again in this important debate. Will he indicate how councils and the Welsh Assembly came to terms with how offshore wind generation affects the fishing industry? Some locations in Northern Ireland are coming up shortly, and one of the great issues for us is how they will affect the fishing industry on the north coast of Antrim and in my constituency of Strangford. How did the Welsh Government address that issue to ensure that the fishing sector can continue?

[Albert Owen]

I cannot speak for the Welsh Government, but I can speak for myself. I am an ex-seafarer, so I understand some of the conditions at sea, and navigation is affected, as well as fishing. I respect that, but the consultations we have had in north Wales, and will have on future developments, contain important environmental impact studies. The marine environment is taken very seriously, and wind is sensitive. Oil is being drilled in the North sea, and I think wind generation is less intrusive than some of those projects. We have to get the balance right, but the impact has been taken seriously. If we are serious about developing renewable resources, we have to use them wisely. Wind is abundant in north-west Britain and north-east Northern Ireland, so we have to go ahead, but it is a sensitive issue.

As I was saying about Gwynt y Môr and the other already-developed offshore wind farms, the Celtic array is a round 3 Irish sea project, and I want to focus the Minister’s mind on that because of its sheer scale. As he may know, the Celtic array is a joint venture between Centrica and DONG Energy that will have the capacity to produce 2.2 GW and will service an estimated 1.7 million homes. The Celtic array will be located 19 km off the north-east coast of Anglesey, 34 km off the Isle of Man and very close to the coastlines of Northern Ireland and north-west England. Depending on the turbines that are chosen—this is important because technology is moving fast—there will be between 150 and 400 of them, and if the technology continues to develop in the same way, they might produce 6 MW each. So the turbines will be huge. The Celtic array includes array cables, export cables and substations located offshore, where they will be less intrusive. The connection to the grid, which is expected to be in Anglesey, will be made with a few cables, rather than the large amount of infrastructure that is needed for onshore in coastal areas that many people oppose.

Gwynt y Môr has already created jobs, and I want to highlight a number of them, because they represent a significant investment. Holyhead-based Turbine Transfers, which is a subsidiary of Holyhead Towing, has been awarded a £10 million contract to provide transfer vessels that will operate from the port of Mostyn in the constituency of my right hon. Friend the Member for Delyn (Mr Hanson). That is a local company with an international reputation founded by an entrepreneurial family, and it will benefit from the investment, which could bring more than £80 million and much-needed jobs to the Welsh economy.

Looking forward to the Celtic array, we need bigger infrastructure, bigger vessels and bigger port capacity. I will deal specifically with the port of Holyhead in my constituency, as it is the largest seaport on the western seaboard and, as a natural deep-water harbour, it has huge potential. I was disappointed by this Government’s decision, after the previous Chancellor’s announcement that £60 million would be set aside for essential port development so that—I stress this—United Kingdom ports could benefit. That was a missing link. We have manufacturing on land and generation offshore, but bringing them together needs port development, and the £60 million was set aside for that purpose. In October 2010, the coalition Government decided to make the moneys available to English ports only, with the Barnett consequential going to Wales and other nations of the United Kingdom. That put Wales at a serious disadvantage, because the consequential for the whole of Wales is about £3 million. Anybody who understands port development knows that that is a small drop in the ocean, so this seriously undermines Wales’s potential to develop.

The irony, reading the statement from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, is that much of the money allocated to English ports remains unspent. I ask the Minister, in his own joking manner, to pass it over to Wales as quickly as possible if he can. My serious point is that he should go back to Government, argue the case that the United Kingdom ports remain a reserved responsibility of the UK Government, get a grip on the situation and, from this Westminster Parliament, help Welsh ports. That is what we are here for: to represent the views of our Welsh constituents. We are losing out as a consequence of that decision, and it is unfair. As the new Secretary of State said in a response to me, if the Welsh Assembly Government were funding this, the money would have to be drawn from education and health budgets, which would be unfair. The money was originally intended for UK ports. UK ports are a reserved matter and this should be done fairly.

[Glyn Davies]

I have a great deal of sympathy with what the hon. Gentleman is saying, but on a point of clarity it is important to understand how the devolution settlement works and how Members such as me can help the cause by addressing the matter in the context of the constitutional position, so that we know what we can do, rather than just stating opinions.

[Albert Owen]

Constitutional issues have their place, but it is clear that ports are a reserved UK matter—I have worked with previous UK Governments on developing ports in my constituency—so the Government should take responsibility and treat all UK ports the same. We are not asking for anything extra in Wales; we are asking for a level playing field so that Welsh ports can develop and, importantly, benefit the whole United Kingdom. If the development goes ahead and north-west Wales has port infrastructure, that will help the energy needs of the whole United Kingdom.

I move briefly to tackle head-on some of the criticisms of wind energy. Intermittency is an issue. Just as we need base load electricity at peak times for industry and domestic use, we also have off-peak periods. If hon. Members can remember the long hot summers we used to have, we needed to cut off much of our electricity generation during those times. Wind is an excellent resource in that respect, because turbines can be switched off easily. It is both costly and difficult to turn off a gas-fired, coal-fired or nuclear power station. We need the flexibility that wind and other renewables give us for the future. Of course, on long, cold winter days when the wind is not blowing, we need base load at full capacity, but the other side of the coin appears when we have warm weather.

The economics of wind are also controversial. In response to the mini-inquiry by the Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change on the economics of wind power, DECC gave some interesting figures. Two large companies undertook research on DECC’s behalf, levelising the cost per megawatt-hour of the different technologies for producing electricity. Nuclear was by far the cheapest, but wind was considerably higher. I have the figures in front of me; they give costs looking forward to new technologies that may or may not develop in future. Nuclear costs £60 to £80 per MWh, compared with some £94 per MWh for onshore wind and £110 per MWh for offshore wind. Clean coal and gas using carbon capture and storage cost some £100 to £150 per MWh.

We need to develop those technologies to make them more efficient. Logically, if we can improve gas, coal and nuclear, we can improve our wind technology as well. I have seen some of the new turbines that are being developed. They run for longer, are more efficient and need less maintenance, so we can reduce costs.

Subsidy is not a dirty word to me. Most energy generation in most countries has had some form of subsidy, and emerging gas in this country was 100% subsidised by the taxpayer when it came into effect. I do not feel that we should not subsidise new technologies, although I think that the Government are right to move subsidy under the renewables obligation from onshore wind to offshore, now that onshore is established, to make offshore wind more competitive.

[Ian Lucas]

It is critical to emphasise, because it is not emphasised often enough, that the UK is in the vanguard of offshore wind technology. We must press forward with it. We need to consider the support and assistance given to companies such as Prysmian Cables in my constituency, which has created jobs as a result of the investment in offshore wind. That needs to be factored into the equation when we assess whether to invest further.

[Albert Owen]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right.

Moving on to the additional costs of renewables, one controversial point is the impact of renewable energy on household bills, and on business bills. We talk, rightly, about protecting the consumer, but a lot of British businesses are suffering from the high cost of energy. According to DECC’s estimate, as recently as 2011, public policies, including environmentally friendly subsidies to renewables, comprised about 7% of our bills. The Committee on Climate Change projects that costs might rise as much as 33% before 2020. Of that, two thirds will be contributed by the rising price of fossil fuels and one third by the cost of renewables. I want to put that in a proper context for the future. Yes, there is a cost in moving towards renewables, but there will also be a huge cost if we do not, given the rising price of fossil fuels.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham said, we must also consider the pluses of investing in wind generation and renewables. As he pointed out in his example, the socio-economic benefits to the north Wales region, and across the United Kingdom, would be huge. RenewableUK estimates that by 2022, the United Kingdom’s offshore wind industry will generate some £60 billion in gross value added, supporting some 45,000 jobs. Other estimates are even higher—as high as 0.4% of UK GDP and more than 90,000 jobs. That is the potential. This debate is about focusing attention on what has been achieved and on the potential for the future. Regions such as north Wales can benefit because of their natural resources, deep-water harbours and skills base.

The Celtic array project is not that far away, Minister, and we need to get this right. We need to get the port development right. We need to increase our skills base. We need stability, so that companies from all over the United Kingdom and beyond have the confidence to invest in our country. I support wind generation on the north Wales coast. It harnesses the benefits for the region. It will have benefits for the north of Ireland, the north-west of Britain and other parts of the United Kingdom, too. Governments at all levels need to work together. I urge the Minister, in the first few weeks in his job, to contact the Welsh Government—the First Minister is responsible for energy matters—and discuss these issues, so that Wales can have the benefits that it deserves for the future.

Wind energy is simply about turning wind into electricity, but we need to generate real jobs, too. We are on the right track—a few years of stable government has given investors what they need. There are concerns now, and I hope that the Minister will address them in his winding-up speech. I will allow other hon. Members their opportunity to discuss what I think is an exciting future, with north-west Wales playing a big part in the low-carbon economy that we all want to build, and the UK being a world leader in that economy.

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[Mr Hanson]

I agree. This is a start, but it is a contributor to community benefits, which I want to spread wider than just the boroughs of Conwy and Denbighshire; boroughs in Flintshire in our area have an impact on economic activity in a negative as well as a positive way in respect of the development of wind farms.

Wind farms in north Wales are positive for the green economy, our local economy and the community. I have three requests to make of the Minister. First, I hope that he recognises, gives credit to and celebrates the fact that the industry is developing and flourishing in our area. I say that not to cause a political row between us, but to get consensus in the Chamber and with the Assembly on these matters.

The Secretary of State for Wales wrote a blog in 2009, when the Gwynt y Môr wind farm was being developed, under the headline, “Well done, Conwy”:

“I was extremely pleased and relieved to hear that Conwy County Councillors today resolved to seek counsel’s opinion on the merits of an application for judicial review of the decision to grant consent for the development of the proposed Gwynt y Môr wind farm.”

I could quote three or four other blogs from the Secretary of State, expressing a mild cynicism about the benefits of wind farms appearing in north Wales, including for its economy. I do not wish to cause the Minister any difficulty, but I genuinely want him to give words of comfort and encouragement and to say that his Government, of whom he and the Secretary of State are part, are committed to helping develop these industries in our area.

[Albert Owen]

My right hon. Friend is right to raise the issue of the Secretary of State’s previous remarks, although I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman is now in line with Government policy. The Secretary of State mentioned the negative impact that offshore wind farms would have on tourism. However, the opposite is the case, if anything. The chair of the association for north Wales tourism has said that the new development of Gwynt y Môr, and others, would not impact on tourism at all. So people who understand the industry are saying that there would be no negative impact as a result of offshore development in north Wales.

[Mr Hanson]

I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s intervention. I represent places such as Talacre and Gronant, at the north end of my constituency, where holiday activity goes on undiminished by the wind farms in those areas. I want to get recognition from the Minister that the Government are committed to helping develop these important industries.

Secondly, we need the Minister to provide certainty about certain matters, because that is important in the context of the forthcoming Energy Bill. For the moment, there is the question of long-term contracts for difference to support renewable and low-carbon energy, guaranteed by fixed prices for output. We need clarity from the Government on the allocation process for contracts for difference. We need the Government to give certainty to the industry about timetables, including on targets for decarbonisation, so that long-term investment by wind farm developers can be considered not just in the context of the previous Government or this Government, but of any future Government, who will have to make long-term financial decisions. Cross-party consensus on the need for developing this industry, if I can get it, will help give that certainty.

Thirdly, I want to throw into the mix the fact that at Mostyn docks and in the offshore developments, we are assembling material constructed and built elsewhere. The Swedes—the Scandinavians—are masters at the production of wind-farm technology. We have probably missed the chance now, although we in the previous Government pressed to do it. The Minister should cast an eye gently on what we can do to help encourage UK-based manufacture and development skills. It is great to assemble at Mostyn docks and to have the skills offshore, but ultimately we are missing a trick if we do not consider the potential for future manufacture and technology development in our country.

I ask the Minister for confidence and certainty, to look at manufacturing and to please help support this industry, which really does create jobs in our area.

[Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire) (Con)]

I had not planned to speak, but the issue is of such incredible interest to me that I felt that I had to. I congratulate the hon. Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen) on securing such an important debate and on speaking for half an hour and uttering hardly a word with which I disagreed. That is something of an achievement.

I have always thought of myself as living in mid-Wales, so I am conscious that I am contributing to a debate that is about north Wales. However, if the new boundaries go through, my house will be in Denbigh and north Montgomeryshire, so I consider myself, as of yesterday, a potential north Walian, which allows me a degree of credibility in this debate.

I have had a particular interest in onshore wind since 2005 and people from all over Britain have written to me about it, including several from Ynys Môn, although I have written back to say that I am not the Member for Ynys Môn, so, clearly, I have not followed up all the issues. Because of that, I understand that the issue is not just for my constituency and perhaps slightly more widely in mid-Wales, but affects many other parts of Britain. A lot of people are writing from Scotland now, deeply concerned. I am concerned about the same issue and I want to contribute to the debate because I want the new Minister to know the sheer strength of feeling in certain parts of Britain about onshore wind.

Before 2005, I would have thought of myself as a supporter of renewable energy in all its forms; there was no issue for me. Indeed, in Montgomeryshire we had several onshore wind farms and I had not expressed any particular opposition to those, because if they are limited in number they do not have a huge impact on the environment. However, a plan for a scheme suddenly emerged from the Welsh Assembly Government, as they were called—they are now called the Welsh Government—that identified an area of mid-Wales to be designated for a huge development of a dedicated 400 kW line that would probably be about 35 miles long. That might be fine in some parts of the country, but this would go up a narrow valley, right into the heart of mid-Wales—my constituency—and because this is a dedicated line it inevitably means that there would be, depending on the size of the turbines, perhaps 500 to 700 turbines in a relatively small, beautiful area of Britain. There are five applications now, which it was announced yesterday are going to a joint appeal later on.

We have to be careful about considering developing onshore wind in beautiful parts of Britain. Huge damage could be caused for little benefit. I am concerned about, and want the Minister to look at, the aesthetic impact of onshore wind turbines in large scale and great density, because that should be a material consideration in how we deal with such developments. We should not just look at the figures, because we know that offshore wind, for example, is more expensive to develop than onshore wind.

By taking offshore wind seriously, we will stand a much better chance of bringing its cost down to where it becomes competitive with onshore wind.

[Albert Owen]

The hon. Gentleman mentioned the problem in his area, which I understand—I have debated the matter with him several times—but will he provide some solutions and talk about how his community is developing things such as biomass, geothermal and various other sources of energy, rather than just attacking the onshore wind developments? Can he come up with some solutions, because his area will need electricity in future and will need to generate its own electricity?

[Glyn Davies]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. There are various alternatives coming through, and I would give support to all of them. Developing renewable energy and moving forward to meet climate change targets often involves intrusive developments, and we have to put up with them, but I am concerned about the scale of the project. We cannot afford to be overly balanced in our comments if we are talking about making an impact at British level. One issue dominates in most constituencies, but definitely for me, and I stick at it, repeating things again and again. The Minister will become sick of it; he has been in the job only for a while, but his predecessor must have been sick of me. Every chance I get, I shall hammer home the fact that the operation of one of our policies is destined to desecrate my constituency. My duty to my constituency is to try to stop it.

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[The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Mr John Hayes)]

I thank the hon. Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen) for drawing the House’s attention to this important matter and for securing the debate. His advocacy of the interests of his constituency is a model of good representation. When I entered the Chamber today and saw the array of his Welsh colleagues, I reflected for a moment on what the collective noun for a group of Welsh people is. I thought perhaps a “choir”, a “valley”, or a “Barry John”, but then, given my experience of Wales, I decided that it would be a “charm” of Welsh Members.

I will attempt to respond to the points raised in the short time available to me. The hon. Gentleman began by highlighting four points. He talked about the need for a viable energy mix, and he is right that to maintain energy security and build resilience into the system, we need a mixed range of energy generation. Renewables are an important part of that mix. He mentioned clarity— a point reflected by the hon. Member for Llanelli (Nia Griffith)—and certainty. The Energy Bill will provide precisely that.

If I were a more partisan man, I might say that the Energy Bill should have passed through the House long ago, because we have known for a long time that we need extra resources and to replace the generating resource. Indecision has characterised policy in the past, but let us put that to one side. We now have the chance for a Bill that provides just that clarity and certainty, and just the platform for investment that produces the kind of mixed array of energy generation sought by the hon. Member for Ynys Môn. He also spoke about skills, which are critical.

[Albert Owen]

I am grateful to the Minister for trying to charm Welsh Opposition Members. He mentioned the Energy Bill. I agree that for many decades there should have been greater investment in our infrastructure and that the dash for gas in the ’80s and ’90s was wrong. We are now back to square one, because the gas has run out. Will the Minister clearly tell the House when he expects the Bill to be laid before Parliament, and when we can start debating these issues? It is already a year and a half late, as the Government first announced it 18 months ago.

[Mr Hayes]

I expect it to be laid before Parliament next month, but it would be wrong for me to pitch above my pay grade. The Leader of the House will have a view about the parliamentary timetable, which will of course be agreed through the usual channels.

None the less, we anticipate that the Bill will be laid next month. I hope that we can get on with the business of scrutinising it carefully, ensuring that it is fit for purpose and that we have a largely consensual strategy based on a shared understanding of energy needs and a determination to develop a long-term view about what our energy future should look like. I do not think that there is much difference between the parties in the Chamber today about the fundamentals, but let me highlight some of the areas that need greater clarification—the sort of clarification that the hon. Member for Ynys Môn sought in his opening remarks. Before I do so, however, I want to deal with his point about skills.

The hon. Gentleman talked about the importance of skills in this mix, and he knows—indeed, he mentioned it—that the higher education and further education sectors, in Wales and elsewhere, are playing a key role in providing the skills that are necessary, particularly in the emerging technologies, to make the aim a reality and to provide the jobs that are desirable and the competences necessary to bring about the future that I describe.

The hon. Gentleman raises those issues against a background of change in his constituency; I am thinking of the closure of Wylfa and the associated closure of Anglesey Aluminium, but also of the great success that his constituency has enjoyed in respect of offshore wind. He makes the very important point that to provide secure, affordable, low-carbon energy resources, we have to face up to some of the challenges associated with the development of the offshore wind industry.

Let me be clear: offshore wind remains an important part of Government policy in meeting the objective of providing the mix that the hon. Gentleman suggested was essential, that we certainly believe is vital and that will be underpinned by the provisions of the Energy Bill. Offshore wind is one source of affordable energy. It provides a free and limitless domestic supply of fuel. We have a great deal of resource because we have shallow seas, consistent winds and an increasingly skilled work force who have experience of working offshore.

The challenge—this point was made by a number of hon. Members—is to ensure that the whole of our kingdom gets the most benefit from the investment. That is about the supply chain, I agree; as a direct result of the contribution from the hon. Member for Llanelli, I will look again at what measures we can put in place to ensure that we get maximum benefit, through the supply chain, from these important developments.

Furthermore, we need to provide absolute certainty for those who want to invest. Investment in this sector, because it is an emerging sector, is inevitably a matter that people will consider very carefully. It is not a long-established sector, with all that that means. The technology is relatively new. The scale necessary to drive down costs is only just beginning to emerge. Therefore, the commitment that the Government make to offshore wind is important in signalling to potential investors that they can consider this option without fear of a policy lurch or change.

That is another reason, by the way, why it is important to develop an energy strategy that is consensual—because, of course, policy can change when there is a change of Government or Minister. Governments do not last for ever, and Ministers sometimes last for even less time, so it is very important that a signal is sent out from the House and through what the Government say and do.

The hon. Member for Ynys Môn talked at length about some of the specific impacts on his constituency, but of course there is a specific impact across the whole of Wales. We have heard a great deal about the Gwynt y Môr wind turbine development, which is currently under construction. It has already helped to generate significant economic opportunities and create new jobs in Wales and more widely.

The port of Mostyn will serve as the operations and maintenance base throughout the life of that development. Turbine Transfers, which is based in Anglesey, as the hon. Gentleman knows, will supply transfer vessels and crew. It has already created, I think, 20 new jobs as a result. DRB Group, which is in the constituency of the hon. Member for Alyn and Deeside (Mark Tami), who also contributed to the debate, will provide crane units. Prysmian Cables in Wrexham won an order to provide cables worth some £15 million. Jones Bros of Ruthin won a multi-million pound contract for preparatory groundworks for the building of a substation. A little further south, Mabey Bridge in Chepstow won a contract to provide drill components.

We know that there is a significant supply-chain impact and that that has a real value in terms of jobs and skills, and we should understand the offshore wind industry in that way. This is not simply about the short-term benefits that may arise from a particular development; it is about building an infrastructure, in terms of supply, jobs and skills, that can benefit the whole of Wales and the whole of the kingdom.

Let me say again that we understand that renewables are an important part of that mix and that offshore wind is part of that. However, there are questions to be asked—indeed, they have been asked in this debate by a number of hon. Members, who put their case very well.

Yes, the hon. Member for Ynys Môn is right to say—other hon. Members made this point, too—that costs should fall as scale grows. It is right that we see the support that we give this industry at its beginning as rather different from how it will compete subsequently. That is true across the energy marketplace, by the way. We need to move to a more market-responsive, more competitive energy marketplace, including in the area of renewables.

It is also right, as a number of hon. Members suggested, that community benefit needs to be at the heart of what we do. These things must not be imposed on communities, which must feel a sense of ownership and influence over where they are located. Community benefits need to be considered very seriously. I was delighted that the hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd (Chris Ruane) was able to secure such a benefit for his community. He was right to do so. We have a role to play in that as local constituency MPs. As a Government, we will also do what we can, as I have in the call for evidence on onshore wind. That obliges us to reconsider the benefits that communities attain from that kind of development.

Let me say a few words about onshore wind, because my hon. Friend the Member for Montgomeryshire (Glyn Davies) and the hon. Member for Clwyd South (Susan Elan Jones) raised that issue. I entirely agree that we must see it as being about aesthetics as well as utility. I regard it as almost extraordinary that people can stare at some monstrous concrete structure and tell me that it is beautiful. These are industrial structures. Placing them insensitively, in areas where there is large-scale and understandable opposition to them, has done immense damage to the debate about renewables. I think that we need to settle the onshore wind argument to get on the front foot and have a more positive debate about renewables—of the kind that we have had today. I think that we need a new paradigm in those terms. E. F. Schumacher, who wrote “Small is Beautiful”, a wonderful book, which I am sure you are familiar with, Sir Alan—

[Albert Owen]

Will the Minister give way?

[Mr Hayes]

I have only a minute.

[Albert Owen]

I will be brief.

[Mr Hayes]

If the hon. Gentleman is going to talk about Schumacher, fine.

[Albert Owen]

I am extremely grateful to the Minister for giving way, but I did ask the question initially about port development. Will he work with the Welsh Assembly Government and the port authority of Holyhead to maximise the potential of that port? Will he, as a Minister, come and see it—see the potential for himself?

[Mr Hayes]

How could I resist such an invitation?