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Since our spring newsletter, we’ve been busy, not least observing, monitoring and interpreting the seismic political shifts across the UK and Wales to support our clients to navigate what the changes mean for them.
We held our first ‘Cadno in Conversation’ event with Julie James MS, organised a Cross Party Group, submitted evidence to the Welsh Government’s consultation on the Infrastructure (Wales) Act, heard from experts in hydrogen and grid, supported Cardiff Uni on their recruitment programme, and still managed to squeeze in some fun visits around Cardiff! Read on to find out more…
A week is a long time in politics
It’s been a monumental time in politics with a raft of political changes since our spring newsletter. The new UK Labour Government in Westminster hit the ground running by introducing the Great British Energy Bill to accelerate investment in renewable energy and the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to accelerate upgrades to the national grid and boost renewable energy. The UK Government is committed to decarbonising the grid by 2030 and says electricity generation from offshore wind must quadruple, solar must treble, and onshore wind must double. The Cadno team is looking forward to supporting clients on projects right across the UK to help realise these targets.
Meanwhile, it’s been politically momentous in Wales, too. We lost a First Minister (Mark Drakeford stood down), gained a new First Minister (Vaughan Gething, following a Labour leadership campaign), then lost said First Minister (after he stood down four months into his premiership), and promptly gained another (veteran Labour politician Eluned Morgan, who becomes the first woman to lead Wales).
In a tumultuous few months, while the Welsh Government did manage to fulfil a commitment to launch Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru (plaudits all round), they failed (again) to make a decision on EDF Renewables UK’s 85 MW Garn Fach Wind Farm in Powys, which was submitted into planning in spring 2022. The Garn Fach delay was announced just two weeks after the UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero approved 1.3 GW of solar in England with a stroke of his pen. That’s quite a contrast. And it’s fair to say the optics in Wales don’t look that great by comparison.
If you think we can help you to stay abreast of a political landscape currently characterised by change, please contact our Policy and Public Affairs Manager Daniel at [email protected]
First ‘Cadno in Conservation’ event guest speaker Julie James MS meets women in the renewable energy sector
In April, Julie James MS, met with more than 30 women working in the renewable energy sector in Swansea, at our first ‘Cadno in Conversation’ event.
Women from across the renewable energy sector heard the then Cabinet Secretary reflect on her time as Wales’ first Climate Change Minister and discuss energy targets, plans for Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru, the future of planning policy, and skills in the renewables industry.
This first event was made possible with the support of the BlueFloat Energy Renantis Partnership.
Gwenllian Elias, Head of Development Celtic Sea at BlueFloat Energy Renantis Partnership, said: “We are pleased to be supporting Cadno in Conversation, providing the opportunity for people working in the renewable energy industry to network and hear from senior policy makers. There has never been a more important time for us all to come together and collaborate, as Wales stands on the threshold of a green energy revolution with floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea set to deliver economic benefits for our communities and good quality lifelong careers for the next generation.”
Cadno in Conversation events will continue later this year. Keep an eye out for more information.
Senedd Cross Party Group on Renewable and Low Carbon Energy AGM
In May, we held the AGM for the Senedd Cross Party Group on Renewable and Low Carbon Energy with attendance from across politics, the energy industry and public sector.
Cadno has provided the secretariat to the Cross Party Group since its inaugural meeting in 2021 and we were delighted to be re-elected as the secretariat for 2024/25. Delyth Jewell MS was re-elected as the Chair and will be supported by vice chairs Jane Dodds MS and John Griffiths MS.
During the meeting we heard from Rebecca Wiliams, Wales Director at The Crown Estate, on the opportunities for floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea; Debbie Jones, Low Carbon Innovation Manager at M-SParc on net zero skills and supply chain development; and Hayley Williams, Curriculum Development Manager at Pembrokeshire College on how the college forges strong partnerships with industry to address future skills gaps.
We look forward to seeing you at the next session in Autumn 2024.
To join the Cross Party Group on Renewable and Low Carbon Energy, please contact [email protected].
Infrastructure (Wales) Act – consultation
Cadno has also responded to the Welsh Government’s consultation on pre-application consultation (PAC) requirements under the new Infrastructure Consents regime. In our response, we argued that the minimum PAC requirements for Developments of National Significance are appropriate and should be maintained in the new regime. We did make the case for a requirement for developers to engage with young people, however. From our experience of more than a decade working on projects, those who engage in consultations on large-scale renewable energy developments are disproportionately in the 50+ age category and therefore the views of this demographic are more prevalent within feedback. There is plenty of evidence suggesting that different age groups have very different attitudes to climate change renewable energy, with younger people showing more understanding and support compared to older generations. All too often, the views of younger people are undocumented.
We argued that a new requirement to engage young people would be in line with the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales)Act 2015, which sets out the importance of involving people with an interest and ensuring that those people reflect the diversity of the area.
We also explained in our response that as part of the best practice approach adopted by our clients, consultation with young people is a core theme of the engagement strategy. Engagement ranges from the general (providing STEM sessions in secondary schools, information on careers in the sector, learning materials about renewables) to specifics linked to the renewable energy project being proposed (project materials aimed at young people, including feedback forms, and consultation exhibitions at lunchtime or during school assembly).
The consultation period ended in July and the Welsh Government will now consider the responses before announcing next steps in the autumn.
Cadno team deep dive into hydrogen and grid masterclasses
To grow our understanding of the issues facing the energy sector in Wales we have embarked on a number of masterclasses with specialists from our network.
Jeremy Smith, Head of Hydrogen Business Development at RWE Generation delivered an informative session about hydrogen looking at the different production methods, the need for renewables to create green hydrogen, uses for hydrogen, as well as the policy, financing and regulation of this emerging sector.
Aled Rowlands, a consultant with National Grid ESO spoke to the team about the history of grid, the colossal amount of work going on to modernise it, the approach of the new Labour Government in Westminster, and provided insights on what’s required if we’re serious about meeting net zero: large scale grid infrastructure, some of which really isn’t pretty!
We are incredibly grateful to Jeremy and Aled for giving their time to the team and sharing their expertise. We’d love ideas – and volunteers! – for more masterclass sessions, and in return we’d be happy to talk you through our public consultation work or insights into the ever-changing political landscape.
Cadno – out and about
Senedd tour
In order to learn more about Welsh politics, Ewan and Sarah from Cadno’s comms team joined one of the free guided tours of the Senedd.
It’s a fascinating tour run by enthusiastic tour guides who really know their stuff. The Senedd was designed by renowned architect, Lord Richard Rogers and opened on St David’s Day 2006. The layout and use of glass is meant to reflect the Senedd’s commitment to transparent democracy. Natural materials from around Wales – including wood, copper, slate and stone – add toits sustainable credentials.
Did you know that the use of glass means they don’t need to use as much electricity for lighting?
BBC Wales Studios
Sarah, Daniel and Ewan took an afternoon out to visit the BBC Wales studios near the Cadno office in central Cardiff.
It was exciting to stand in the atrium where Jeremy Vine broadcast the BBC Election Night coverage just the week before and to learn how the entire building is set up to use innovative augmented reality technology.
We were taken into the BBC Wales News studio, radio studios and met an announcer. It was fascinating to see how the studios operate and the sheer amount of content being produced in Cardiff, for broadcast around the entire UK.
Here are Daniel and Ewan posing as BBC Radio Cymru’s newest show hosts!
Cardiff University Student Futures
We have an excellent relationship with Cardiff University and Sarah was invited recently to do a promo video for their Student Futures / Dyfodol Myfyrwyr – a new platform they are launching to help students apply for jobs and work placements.
Cadno has been fortunate to have excellent interns through the university’s placement service, and we were delighted to have the opportunity to pay it back and contribute our tips for what recruiters look for in candidates.
