Contracts for Difference

Henry Tufnell Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Ed Miliband]

I very much welcome my hon. Friend’s embrace of solar as part of the energy mix. It is really important to say this: we need more rooftop solar. Lots of people in this House ask, “Why don’t we do more on rooftops?”, and I agree with them. There is also an important role for ground-mounted solar, however. I very much look forward to coming to York at some point to see the projects he talks about.

[Henry Tufnell (Mid and South Pembrokeshire) (Lab)]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement, for which I thank him. It is incredibly exciting and marks a complete change from Conservative party policy. The Celtic sea, off the coast of my constituency, has the unique conditions of deep water and strong winds, offering us the opportunity to be a global leader in the new technologies of floating offshore wind. However, those unique conditions require a unique approach from Government. As we look forward to allocation round 7, will the Secretary of State join me in working to refresh the approach in the auction so that more support goes towards FLOW projects in autumn 2025?

[Ed Miliband]

My hon. Friend is a great champion of floating wind in the Celtic sea. He is right: we are proud of the 400 MW project in this round. We need to look—including in the auction round, through GB Energy and in other ways—at how we can build on our advantages in crucial floating wind technology, take the opportunities that they provide, and have the industrial capacity. I look forward to discussions with him and other colleagues on how we make that happen.