Cost of Living in Wales
Debate between Yvonne Fovargue and David T C Davies(2 years, 10 months ago)
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David T. C. Davies
I will in a moment. Let me finish my speech—as Opposition Members know, I like to take interventions and then I completely lose my place.
I do not accept that storage was an issue. We made a decision, as a nation, that we were not going to frack for cheap gas, but we are not dependent on Russian gas. Only about 2% of the gas we use comes from Russia, and we could easily do without it. We import mainly from Norway and take liquefied natural gas, as well as using our own. We are not dependent on Russian gas, but other countries in the EU are, and that will have an impact on supplies overall.
As far as renewables are concerned, we have an amazing story to tell. We have vastly increased the amount of renewables we use, mainly from wind. We are now developing offshore wind power, and even looking at floating offshore wind. The hon. Member for Newport East will realise that the transition towards carbon neutrality comes at a cost. We should not hide the fact that low-carbon energy sources, such as wind and solar, generally cost more than carbon-based energy sources, such as gas and coal. I wonder how many minutes I have left.
David T. C. Davies
I will take a quick intervention from the hon. Member for Swansea East (Carolyn Harris).