Control of our Natural Resources

When it comes to powers over resources, we believe that the people of Wales should have full control over all of our natural resources, our waters and our lands. We need to have energy independence for Wales so that we can achieve a fair green transition on our terms.

We believe that Wales should have full control over energy powers, without any upper limit or conditions set by the UK Government. It makes no sense for there to be a specific limit, currently 350MW of generation, meaning that there are two planning regimes in place and that major energy developments can be given consent by Westminster without the consent of people in Wales.

Plaid Cymru will ensure that Wales takes full control over the Crown Estate in Wales, which has already been devolved to Scotland but not yet to Wales.

Recent years have seen increased investment in Crown Estate energy projects in Wales’s waters and the benefits from these investments should be returned to Wales. These projects should be developed for the needs of Wales, rather than for extraction, and should be aligned with the electricity grid, planning system and other factors, to maximise positive outcomes for Wales. This includes the use of Welsh local supply chains in future contracts for renewable energy developments of the Welsh Crown Estate, developing and supporting our local industries.

This will become a Sovereign Wealth Fund for Wales, so that we invest the profits in our future generations.

Control of water in Wales would allow the Senedd to set higher environmental targets on water quality and lower prices, where possible. The current scandal of water quality must be resolved and it should never be allowed to happen again. We would enact section 48(1) of the Wales Act 2017, which would fully align the Senedd’s legislative competence over water with the geographical boundary of Wales. We would also formally request powers from the UK over the licensing of sewage in Wales.