Port Talbot Harbour could be 'completely transformed' into global hub for floating off-shore wind

• ITV Wales' National Correspondent Rob Osborne reports from Port Talbot.

Port Talbot Harbour could be "completely transformed" into a global hub for floating off-shore wind under the government's new Great British Energy plan, Associated British Ports (ABP) has said.

The Welsh Secretary, Jo Stevens, has said Wales is entering into a "decade of Welsh renewal" as a partnership between Great British Energy and The Crown Estate aims to create new offshore wind farm developments.

The Prime Minister and Energy Secretary today announced the new partnership, which it claims "has the potential to leverage up to £60 billion of private investment into the UK’s drive for energy independence".

The Crown Estate is hoping the partnership will lead to up to 20-30 gigawatts of new offshore wind developments being leased by 2030 - including off the coast of Wales.

It says this would provide enough power for the equivalent of almost 20 million homes.

The deal has been announced on the same day the UK Government will introduce legislation to create the new publicly owned company, Great British Energy.

It says the company "will be owned by the British people, for the British people" and will have £8.3 billion of funding over the next parliament.

The announcement comes as Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens visited ABP Port Talbot to discuss how Welsh industry will be at the forefront of new investment in clean energy.

At the port, she discussed Port Talbot’s involvement in plans to develop large-scale floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea and opportunities to create high-quality employment in future industries like clean energy provision.

Earlier, Ms Stevens visited Tata Steel in Port Talbot to continue discussions with steel unions about how the UK Government can support the workforce following Tata’s plan to close its two blast furnaces and build an electric arc furnace at the site.

Since becoming Welsh Secretary after the general election earlier this month, she has chaired the Tata Steel / Port Talbot Transition board for the first time and carried out a series of talks with Tata Steel, steel unions, members of the workforce and businesses in the local supply chain.

"We are quickly delivering on our pledge to set up Great British Energy and Wales can now be at the forefront of this investment - building floating offshore wind, bringing down bills and making the country energy secure," she said in a statement.

"Wales has the resources and skills to be a powerhouse in cutting edge energy technologies and we will work alongside Welsh Government to create high-quality jobs in places like Port Talbot and boost the next generation of Welsh industry."

Speaking to ITV Cymru Wales, she said: "What we need to do, because we've had 14 years of delay on what we know is critical infrastructure that's needed, is we need to make sure that the projects that we're doing around renewables - so, floating off-shore wind, around nuclear, for example - around on-shore wind and solar, that the people who may be at Tata at the moment but may not be in the future, that they may be able to be re-deployed into good, skilled jobs with help and training."

Ms Stevens added that there was "huge potential" to do this, saying: "We've got the people, we've got the geography, and now with the UK government, we've got the investment."

Addressing concerns that Wales may be exploited for its natural assets, she said: "Absolutely not. We are entering into a decade of Welsh renewal and in order to deliver on that and get the country to where it needs to be, all of us have got to play our part.

"In Wales, we have so many advantages that we can offer. Scotland has the same, as does England, as does Northern Ireland, but that national endeavour is about every nation and every region contributing to it, because what we want to do is grow the economy, improve living standards, we raise the revenue to invest in our public services so that we can raise those standards that we want to see right across the piece."

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government is "laser focused laser focused on delivering change, to make people better off."

He added that the partnership is "an important step toward our mission for clean energy by 2030, and bringing down energy bills for good."

"This agreement will drive up to £60 billion in investment into the sector, turbocharging our country toward energy security, the next generation of skilled jobs, and lowering bills for families and business," he continued.

"My mission led government is rolling up our sleeves to deliver for Britain."

What would the plan mean for Wales?

Speaking to ITV Cymru Wales, Ashley Curnow, Port Manager for Wales and the South West with ABP, said: "Our plans would see the Port Talbot Harbour completely transform into a global hub for floating off-shore wind and other renewable energy."

He said that floating off-shore wind has the potential to create 10,000 jobs and that ABP will be investing over £500 million in creating "several hundred metres of quayside capable of handling turbines the size of the shard and floating platforms the size of football pitches."

The turbines will be placed on the platforms and float out into the Celtic Sea, he added.

What is the Crown Estate?

The Crown Estate manages a portfolio of property and land and helps fund the Royal Family.

It owns the vast majority of Britain’s seabed, stretching up to 12 nautical miles from the mainland, and leases parts of it to wind farm operators. It will lease the land on which windfarms can be developed and built.

However, Plaid Cymru has called for The Crown Estate to be devolved to Wales to ensure the new investments directly benefit Welsh communities

Plaid Cymru's Westminster leader, Liz Saville Roberts MP, responded to the announcement, saying that "profits generated from renewable energy projects on the Welsh Crown Estate must be directed towards Welsh communities, not Westminster."

She added: "North Wales has some of the highest energy bills in the United Kingdom with bills around £129 a year higher than the UK average. The Government’s investment plans largely rely on private investment and they should clearly set out how this will benefit households in Wales, over private companies.

"Devolution of the Crown Estate is also vital in Wales if we are to ensure that profits made from leasing land for energy projects are retained in Wales, as they are in Scotland.

"Whilst new investment is welcome, the promise of £8.3 billion UK wide public investment over the course of the Parliament is not ambitious enough. At the General Election, Plaid Cymru proposed a Green New Deal that would have invested £6 billion directly in Wales to develop renewable energy projects, with a strong focus on community and local ownership.

"Today’s partnership also leaves us none the wiser on Labour’s plans to save steel jobs in Wales. The future of steelmaking will be crucial for developing jobs in the renewable energy sector, and the Government must make a clear commitment to protect steel jobs."

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