What is the issue?
There are two specific issues that this project looks to address; Wales’ inflexible and vulnerable economy and the threat facing the nation through climate change.
What will the project try to achieve?
The IWA’s project ‘Re-energising Wales’ will provide a detailed assessment of the economic green growth potential of developing a robust, fit-for purpose, modern and sustainable renewable energy supply for Wales. The project will provide a fully worked out plan to enable Wales to meet its projected energy demands entirely from renewable sources by 2035.
The work ‘Re-energising Wales’ will undertake as a result of support by the Friends Provident foundation will be separated into the following work packages:
- Setting the economic parameters- An appraisal of the wider economic framework within Wales including an assessment of how to move away from an inflexible and vulnerable model focused on foreign direct investment and a non-diverse economic portfolio.
- Maximising energy efficiency- Gathering data to get a picture of current energy demand requirements across Wales and across different sectors in Wales and exploring the potential social, economic and environmental impacts of a range of energy efficiency and energy saving measures via qualitative and quantitative analysis.
- Developing an energy portfolio/systems vision- Using the Swansea Bay City Region as a case study we will model energy demand for the next two decades in this area. With this information we will then look at the likely scenarios for energy supply through different forms of renewable energy and outline what would be required to meet these demands.
- Social and community issues- An assessment of the viability of community renewable energy projects across different geographical locations in Wales including a crowdsourcing exercise.
- Regulatory and political challenges- An assessment of what Welsh Government can achieve with its current powers when aiming to implement an energy model that is of most benefit to Wales and whether further powers would be needed.
By developing this blueprint for Wales the project will develop potential lessons of how a renewable approach to energy could create more resilient economies not just in Wales but across the UK and internationally.
Who might be interested in this project?
‘Re-energising Wales’ brings together learning and interests from both the economics field and the environmental and energy sector. This is both a research-based piece of work and a practical study. Therefore the project will be of interest to academic institutions, industry, NGOs, government and community groups.
While ‘Re-energising Wales’ looks specifically at Wales, the project will have broader relevance to other nations looking to learn lessons and adopt examples of good practice within this field.
Further Information
Further information and project reports can be found on the IWA’s website: http://www.iwa.wales/news/2016/04/re-energizing-wales/