Welsh Government Elections

The Welsh Government elections are coming up next year. Given the multiple crises we are facing, it is perhaps the most important election we have had in Wales for a long time. The next government will be responsible for overseeing the recovery following Covid, dealing with the ramifications of Brexit, tackling the multiple environmental crises that loom and transitioning us to a zero carbon, sustainable society.

These factors present a huge challenge for the future government, it is certainly no mean feat. They will need our support, and our scrutiny, to hold them to account and avoid these crucial issues from being kicked down the road. Fortunately, through the Community Energy sector in Wales we have a network of committed, dedicated and passionate people in every part of our country. Our communities are leading on and delivering the innovations we need to meet the ambitions of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act and will help us overcome the huge challenges we face in the coming years with a sense of cooperation and support.

The challenge for Wales as a nation is how we unlock the potential that can clearly be seen in our communities. How do we make it easy for them to do the right thing and remove any barriers that frustrate progress? All too often our communities have struggled to do what we have all known we should be doing for many years. Projects that should have taken 5-6 years have taken 12-13.

So, the challenge for our sector now as we welcome a new senedd in May 2021 is to highlight the key policies that can unlock the potential of community action. Policies that motivate further community energy projects in Wales, enabling citizens to be directly involved in energy generation, energy efficiency, transport and heating. This is the only way to ensure that the wealth generated by these investments is retained in our communities and in Wales.

We want to start a conversation with our members and other organisations that support our aims to identify the 5 key policies that a new government in Wales should adopt. Policies that would enable our sector to flourish and work with them to deliver the transition to a sustainable and positive future.

If you would like to get involved then please take part in our survey and start drawing together your ideas. We will follow this up with a workshop to narrow down the most popular ideas to our 5 key policy asks that we can then present to all the new Members of the Senedd in May.