Agenda item

The Committee were advised on the progress of delivery of the Local Area Energy Plans (LAEPs) within the Region.

It was explained that the LAEPs formed part of Welsh Government’s commitment to achieve a Net Zero Wales by 2050. Members were informed that Welsh Government had funded the development of the LAEPs in each of the 22 counties across Wales. It was mentioned that several Local Authorities, including Pembrokeshire, were part of a pilot project; and therefore, already had their LAEPs delivered. It was confirmed that the LAEPs for the remaining 18 counties were currently being produced in conjunction with the service providers; City Science were delivering the LAEPs for Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, and Carmarthenshire. It was mentioned that City Science were endeavouring to ensure that the four LAEPs had a synergy between them, to reflect the regional emphasis.

Officers confirmed that Welsh Government had funded the appointment of three support staff to assist in this process; interviews were held in November 2023, and two out of three posts were filled. It was confirmed that these posts were the Energy Project Manager, and the Energy Project Officer; the third post was currently vacant, however the job was out for advert and Officers were hoping to fill this post in the near future.

Members were informed that the funding for the LAEPs was due to end in March 2024; the three remaining LAEPs for the region were on target to be produced by the end of February 2024. It was highlighted that the drafts were currently with each Local Authority for internal comment, and utilities for the technical modelling comments.

A presentation was provided by City Science. It was explained that Local Area Energy Planning was a detailed, comprehensive process designed to identify the most effective pathways to Net Zero for the local energy system.

It was stated that the Regional Directors Group, which reports to the Corporate Joint Committee, was the regional steering group for LAEP sign off; whilst plans were local, they had been developed using regional collaboration and themes aligned with the four regional energy strategies.

Reference was made to the extensive stakeholder engagement programme that had been held during the development of the LAEPs; which was ensuring that they were aligned with the different thematic and regional themes, to ensure collaboration and a regional approach to development.

It was noted that whilst many of the scenarios and levers were local, a large number were regional (skills, transport, housing, infrastructure); therefore, Officers have ensured the LAEPs remained connected and transparent with regional governance structures.

Following the completion of the LAEPs, it was explained that there will be an exercise undertaken by the technical advisors to Welsh Government, to align and consolidate the findings; this will then inform the further development and strategic direction of regional actions, and lead to the creation of a Wales-wide National Energy Plan.

An update was provided in regards to the progress through the stages of the LAEP; action plans had now been developed for each of the LAEPs. It was explained that this will create a robust trajectory for all of the implementation steps that had been identified within the LAEP process, to create a Net Zero energy system in the future. Officers highlighted that they started with baseline modelling to understand the current energy system, before then developing different scenarios to test what the future might look like, and then setting out actions that can support reaching Net Zero by 2050.

It was highlighted that since completing the actions plans, the LAEP documents had been drafted; and as previously mentioned, they were currently being reviewed by each Council, Welsh Government, and the Energy Service. Once feedback had been provided, it was noted that City Science will make the relevant amendments and send off the final versions; stage eight will then commence, which consisted of corporate briefings and Cabinet sign off.

The presentation detailed information regarding the stakeholder engagement that had occurred during the process; all engagement for stages one through six had been completed. It was explained that the last piece of engagement for stage seven was to provide a presentation on the final report to wider group and stakeholders, and then to this Energy Sub Committee. Reference was made to how the engagement activities influenced and fed into the final LAEPs.

City Science provided an overview of what the LAEP documents look like, and how they were structured. It was noted that each LAEP consists of two documents; the main LAEP report which was more accessible, easy to understand and engaging, as well as a technical annex covering all of the technical detail. It was mentioned that both documents followed the same structure; therefore it was easy for the reader to reference different sections in the technical annex as and when they feel that they want to get more information. It was stated that the documents firstly covered the local context and energy system, then shared the vision and future energy scenarios, before looking at interventions, and then finally the action plan.

Members asked if there were going to be any workshops or similar, that will provide a regional overview of the individual LAEPs in order to find the common themes and areas where the regions can collaborate. It was confirmed that after the LAEPs are published, there will be a session to get everyone together to look at the Plans on a regional basis; the action plans identify instances where some actions sit across the region. It was added that the new recruitments, as previously mentioned, will help align the LAEPs and the Energy Strategy to make sure that the themes were working in the right way.

Officers highlighted the importance of the regional and national approach, and the need to obtain a consistent view from Welsh Government in order drive this work forward.

Following the discussion, the report was noted.