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UK Government's Energy Policy

I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the matter of the UK Government’s energy policy as it relates to Wales. I begin by welcoming you to the Chair, Mr Havard. It is the first time that you have chaired the Welsh Grand Committee and it is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship. I thank my hon. Friend Minister for taking the time to answer questions from the Committee so fully. It was his first visit to the Welsh Grand Committee, and I hope it will not be his last. It is the first time that an Energy Minister has attended this Committee since 2008, when the then Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Torfaen, invited the right hon. Member for Croydon North (Malcolm Wicks) to attend. I hope that members of the Committee think this is a useful exercise. It gives us the opportunity to hear at first hand the Minister directly responsible for these policy areas, and means that all Members of Parliament for Wales have the opportunity to make their points and put questions to the Minister. I am pleased to say that we have already spoken to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. I understand that he intends to offer his time to the Committee post-Budget, so that members of the Committee will have the chance to put to him at first hand all the points that are so important to Wales. I will keep my remarks brief to allow maximum time for others to participate. The energy sector is important to Wales, both in the contribution that it can make to the carbon reduction agenda and in terms of the much needed economic benefits that will come by putting Wales at the heart of the new green economy. Wales is an energy rich country, and for generations we have been at the forefront of energy supply in the UK. That is natural, given the natural resources at hand, and the hard work and efforts of Welsh people. We now have the potential to build on that expertise by exploiting energy potential and ensuring that Wales is at the forefront of the transition to a low-carbon economy. Welsh coal was at the heart of powering the industrial revolution, and I want to see Welsh resources and expertise powering the coming green revolution. I believe we will achieve that through the development of wind and marine energy, solar and nuclear power and clean coal, which will make a significant contribution to the energy security of our nation.