Speeches by Young.

“Do you not see this as an opportunity for us?”

“I have one final point on the economic benefits. In the past, when tidal power from the Severn has been looked at, there has been a lot of concern from the ports about the impact that it might have on their commercial activity. Do the potential benefits outweigh any such impact or is that not an issue?”

“You have called for a tidal range energy national policy statement to reinforce government commitment and strengthen regulatory certainty. What discussions have you had with both the UK and Welsh Governments regarding this recommendation?”

“Would you say the technology involved in the construction of either tidal barrages or lagoons is sufficiently proven?”

“You talked about local jobs for local people, but will there be a need to invest in workforce development and supply chain readiness, and specifically turbine manufacture, if a tidal range infrastructure project is to be pursued in the Severn? At the moment, most manufacture is happening in China, I believe.”

“Just to be clear, you have not had direct discussions as a commission with the UK Government on this specific point.”

“Talking about NESO, you have called for it to review its strategic spatial energy plan to include a pathway for tidal range energy. How would this help encourage investment into tidal energy, and how would that interact with the national policy statement you are referring to?”

“Welcome to the panel. I will address my questions to Dr Angeloudis to start with. You would agree that tidal range energy in the Severn could create predictable low-carbon energy independent of weather conditions, but do you agree with the commission’s assessment of the amount of energy that could be generated?”

“Would you say the technology involved in the construction of either tidal barrages or lagoons is sufficiently proven?”

“The report references previous consideration of a tidal reef, which I understand is a subset of barrage in some ways. Should the commission have considered that in more depth?”

“The commission did not consider flood protection, but it did make some comments about it being a significant function of a tidal range structure. Do you agree with this?”

“I do not know whether Shaun or Sarah want to add anything on the flood element.”

“If I can start with Sarah, what are the potential socioeconomic benefits to the Severn region from the construction and development of tidal range energy projects?”

“What timescale were those figures over? You talked about the number of person years of jobs that it would create, but what over timespan would that be delivered? Once created, there would be a much lower level involved in maintenance, would there not?”

“You talked about local jobs for local people, but will there be a need to invest in workforce development and supply chain readiness, and specifically turbine manufacture, if a tidal range infrastructure project is to be pursued in the Severn? At the moment, most manufacture is happening in China, I believe.”

“Do you not see this as an opportunity for us?”

“I have one final point on the economic benefits. In the past, when tidal power from the Severn has been looked at, there has been a lot of concern from the ports about the impact that it might have on their commercial activity. Do the potential benefits outweigh any such impact or is that not an issue?”

“Talking about NESO, you have called for it to review its strategic spatial energy plan to include a pathway for tidal range energy. How would this help encourage investment into tidal energy, and how would that interact with the national policy statement you are referring to?”

“You have called for a tidal range energy national policy statement to reinforce government commitment and strengthen regulatory certainty. What discussions have you had with both the UK and Welsh Governments regarding this recommendation?”

“Just to be clear, you have not had direct discussions as a commission with the UK Government on this specific point.”