Politics has changed.
Net zero has become more divisive, energy bills remain stubbornly high and investors are looking for certainty before committing billions of pounds to new infrastructure. The new PM says he wants more devolution away from London, he wants more regional policy making so what could that look like?
Wales, has devolved energy powers so what’s worked and what hasn’t?
That’s exactly what I explored on the latest Net Hero Podcast with Dr David Clubb, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales and a long-time advocate for community energy and smarter infrastructure.
Rather than seeing devolution as a complication, David believes it gives governments the freedom to innovate.
“I think the political consensus was actually far wider and went back far longer than many people realise,” he told me.
“When you’re trying to deliver long-term infrastructure, you need investments that stand the test of time. These things take years to plan, years to finance and investors need certainty that they’re going to get their money back. That’s why a stable political environment is so important.”
But as politics shifts, he believes certainty has become harder to find.
“We now see parties pushing back on net zero while others want to accelerate it. Long term, though, we know the future is renewable because fossil fuels are finite. The concern is that political uncertainty arrives just when we need unprecedented levels of investment.”
One of the most interesting parts of our conversation centred on devolution. While critics fear different rules across the UK could deter investors, David pointed to Scotland as proof that local decision-making can work.
“If you go back only a few years, onshore wind was effectively banned in England,” he said. “Scotland went for it hammer and tongs. The result is a major industry employing tens of thousands of people and world-leading expertise in onshore and offshore wind. Devolution allows experimentation, which means we can learn much faster about what works.”
He also argued that Britain’s energy future cannot simply rely on ever bigger infrastructure.
“People call it tiny mighty. When you have thousands or millions of small producers everywhere, they become incredibly powerful. We absolutely need large infrastructure, but we also need community energy. We’ve done nowhere near enough to support it and it gives people something tangible they can see benefiting their own communities.”
Grid constraints remain one of the biggest barriers, particularly in Wales, where projects are often ready long before they can connect.
“Wales is stymied in many circumstances by lack of grid,” David explained. “Grid is highly politically contentious and you’re looking at very long lead times. Projects are still going ahead, but they’re concentrated where there is existing capacity.”
Perhaps his strongest message was about people. Communities, he says, don’t want decisions imposed on them.
“People are capable of understanding these issues. When you explain things properly and involve communities early, they make good decisions. There’s a fear that engagement makes projects slower and more expensive. It’s really the reverse. You tend to get things right.”
To hear the full conversation with Dr David Clubb, download the latest episode of the Net Hero Podcast on all major podcast platforms and subscribe so you never miss an episode.
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