Making the most of rainy days in Wales—when many people think of Wales, one thing that comes to mind is its reputation as being accustomed to many rainy days. Indeed, according to the Met Office,
'Wales has an essentially maritime climate, characterised by weather that is often cloudy, wet and windy but mild'.
Snowdonia, in the north, is the wettest area, seeing an average annual rainfall exceeding 3,000 mm—far higher than coastal communities and those along the English border, which see less than 1,000 mm a year. Whilst this may seem small in comparison, we actually have very wet urban areas, too. Cardiff is the wettest city in the UK, seeing an average of 115 cm every year—more than Manchester.
Clearly, Wales as a whole, from Cardiff Bay to Capel Curig, is arguably the wettest part of the UK. Evidence of the abundance of rain here is apparent when considering the striking fact that of all nations in Europe, our United Kingdom has the fifth highest average precipitation, following Iceland, Switzerland, Albania and Norway.
In this debate, I'm going to give Suzy Davies a minute also.
The impact of rain is well known to this Chamber due to the devastation caused by flooding, such as in my constituency of Aberconwy. Rather than talk about these negatives, I want to trigger today a cascade of collaboration and conversation about what really could be our greatest natural resource: rain water.
We are not unfamiliar with the advantages of rain in Wales. Indeed, rain water is already used to produce clean, green energy, thanks to our hydro schemes. Unlike other sources of energy, hydropower offers long-term generation, and schemes have an 80-year life period, compared to those of 25 years for wind and solar, and 35 years for nuclear.
According to the Welsh Government, Wales is expected to generate 70 per cent of its electricity consumption from renewable energy by 2030. When considering that we are currently at around 50 per cent, and the longer lifespan of hydro schemes, it is logical to improve the production of renewable energy via hydro.
In fact, there is significant potential in this sector. For example, whilst there is currently an installed capacity of 1,676 MW in the UK, recent resource studies have indicated that there is a practical potential for a further 2 GW of capacity. More so, a report found that Wales has a potential viable hydropower capacity of between 26,730 kW and 63,000 kW. Clearly, this is a missed opportunity, especially with regard to developing further smaller schemes.
As Claire Perry, Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth, stated:
'From power stations to solar panels, the future is local'.
She is correct. For example, there are around 600 rivers in Wales, many of which could potentially provide a source for hydropower, such as through micro, pico, and small-scale hydro schemes. I have been to visit a small development, just in my constituency, and am aware of a few other projects producing between 30 and 100 kW an hour, and I understand that my colleague Mark Isherwood went to a hydro scheme last week.
Bethesda. However, as in the rest of Wales, hydro is simply not flourishing. 'Why?' is the question.
I'm aware that the Welsh Government already offers loans, grants, and technical support for the development of hydro schemes, such as through the local energy service, the rural community development fund, and sustainable production grant scheme. All sounds very positive, but the reality is somewhat different.
Now, having spoken to my constituents, I believe that some have had no choice other than to rely on bank loans to fund 100 per cent of their developments, whilst others receive a grant through Farming Connect for a service that would ultimately have been cheaper if sought independently. As put to me, all the avenues of support outlined by the Welsh Government are not encouraging, incentivising, or supporting investment in hydro by landowners.
Concerningly, finance remains a barrier to the introduction of more schemes, the growth of this important renewable energy and the utilisation of our rain. Indeed, as one riparian owner explained, the cost of the schemes are just simply too prohibitive. Now, as you might be aware, the feed-in tariff scheme is ending in March. It has been a success because, through this scheme, energy suppliers have been able to make regular payments to householders and communities who generate their own electricity. Now, in the face of this loss, I am pleased that the Government has acknowledged the importance of helping to maintain a route to market for small-scale, low-carbon generation, and that it is now consulting on the smart export guarantee.
Whilst looking to do more to help small hydro plants, I believe the Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales—they have a part to play in this and they could do more. For example, I know that NRW have been asking for up to £1,500 for an extraction licence—contributing to the financial whirlpool that hydro currently seems to be for many. Additionally, I know too that NRW have actually made the development of some schemes almost impossible, having demanded in one instance—now, just listen to this—that metres of trench were dug by hand.
Unsurprisingly, my research has left me deeply disappointed at what seems to be an approach to hydro that just isn’t inspiring investment by our riparian landowners. They could be harnessing a great, free resource: rain water. This can be changed, by enabling hydro to flourish, through: introducing a hydropower development programme that provides a 50 per cent grant towards the total build cost of future hydropower schemes and a 75 per cent grant towards the cost of the consenting of future schemes; providing incentives to invest in infrastructure, such as loans for equipment to be paid off over longer timescales, in line with the lifetime of the asset. Also, they could be inviting landowners to register an interest in developing a scheme, and in return, where reasonable, receive a free feasibility study long before investment takes place, or them having to put money into pursuing design, planning, or licences.
Now, with regard to the latter point, you will be aware that planning authorities are expected to assess the opportunities for renewable and low-carbon energy in their area, and use the evidence to establish special policies in their development plan that identify the most appropriate locations for development. I have had a closer look at how they are expected to do this and have found that there is a particular emphasis on previous studies. Whilst this is reasonable, I believe that more could be achieved by inviting our landowners to work with Government to co-operate. Surely, this would be a positive step that would significantly help Wales to see and use the greater utilisation of rain.
What I am asking for requires quite a simple vision, one that I think we can all unite on: the need to create a greener and more resilient Wales. This is true down to each of our homes, where, I'm sad to say, most of us do not make the most of our rain.
This brings me to the final step that I think we ought to be considering to ensure that we are making the most of rain water. This is something that we have right here in this building: a rain-harvesting scheme, seeing water collected from the main roofs, stored in two 50,000-litre tanks for use in this building. For example, it has seen rain water utilised for flushing WCs, irrigation, and maintenance, resulting in the demand for water being cut to a minimum. Some of the other advantages of harvesting rain include the possibility of using this water for feeding animals, watering plants, heating systems, combating flooding and, most of all, tackling the increasing cost of utility bills, which, including the rise in the average water and sewage bill in Wales, is now around £439 in the last financial year.
When considering that harvesting systems can work off the roofs of almost all our homes, I think it a shame that there are only a few quotable examples. The reason for this might be the fact that there does not seem to be any support for rain water harvesting schemes in Wales. Indeed, the closest source of help offered by the Welsh Government is for land managers and farm businesses to acquire and install their own new rain water goods, be they guttering or downpipes. In my opinion, this situation is ludicrous, as what we are seeing is the Welsh Government simply paying for rain to go down the drain. Do you not agree that it would make sense to help fund those harvesting schemes too?
I want to close my contribution, which I hope has consisted of an important vision for Wales, and one that is achievable, if there is the ambition, if there is the aspiration, and if there is the drive. And I do like to surprise, so I'm going to say a Welsh quote from the most famous Welsh song:
‘Hen Gymru fynyddig, paradwys y bardd, / Pob dyffryn, pob clogwyn, i'm golwg sydd hardd; / Trwy deimlad gwladgarol, mor swynol yw si / Ei nentydd, afonydd, i mi.'
Do you not agree, Minister, that the landscape so famously described in those beautiful lyrics has the potential of offering more to Wales, and indeed, that the sound of the streams and the rivers would be even sweeter when the water they guide has had the best opportunity possible to create green energy, to be used in our homes, and to help to reduce our energy bills?