One of the highlights, or lowlights of every summer season in Cornwall is the changeable weather, and we have certainly experienced a very varied time over the past couple of months. Some would argue that the start of the school holidays is invariably accompanied by a downturn in the weather, what I like to call ‘Cornish liquid sunshine’, but what the abundance of rain and windy conditions that we see so much of in Cornwall does illustrate, is the opportunity that we have to harness the weather for renewable, greener energy, much of which we are ideally placed to be at the heart of here in Truro and Falmouth.
One such opportunity is for the delivery of floating
offshore wind projects in the UK, and the significant opportunity the
technology presents to Cornwall - especially given our county’s core strengths
in marine technologies, engineering, research, and innovation.
Projects in the Celtic Sea are vital if the Government
is to deliver its target to raise the UK’s floating offshore wind target from 1
gigawatt to 5 by 2030. The Crown Estate recently announced that the leasing
round for the region will be launched in mid-2023, which could deliver 4 GW of
installed UK floating offshore wind capacity by 2035. This could support up to
3,200 jobs, with the potential of £682 million spend in the local supply chain
by 2030.
A key part of the strategy is the TwinHub project,
which is the first floating offshore wind project in the Celtic sea, based off
the Cornish north coast. This offshore wind farm will produce more energy while
taking up comparatively less space and, by 2025, will be generating enough
electricity to power 45,000 homes.
Falmouth is one of the deepest ports in the world and
is ideally positioned to become an integration port where turbines will be put
together before being towed out to sea. Falmouth should therefore receive its
first share of the £160 million floating offshore wind manufacturing investment
scheme to unlock wider private sector investment in the Celtic Sea.
Cornwall has a rich and proud maritime industrial
history. I believe the Government can build on that by supporting investment in
the port of Falmouth and the development of TwinHub, as well as ensuring
high-skilled, well-paid careers for Cornish young people.
As well as the potential of floating wind power, we
also have recently seen exciting developments in green technology, with lithium
extraction in Cornwall. Lithium is an essential mineral used in the
manufacturing of batteries for electric cars.
As the world races ahead to secure critical minerals,
the UK must lead the way towards securing responsible critical mineral supply
chains. Cornwall is playing a central role in developing this industry, with a
long and successful mining history and a rich mineral endowment. It offers investment
opportunities to explore and extract many commodities required to manufacture
clean energy.
It is brilliant to see local companies embracing new
technologies that allow more efficient extraction of critical raw material.
Cornish Lithium, based in Penryn, is pioneering the low carbon extraction of
lithium from hard rock and from geothermal
waters in Cornwall and only recently secured a
multi-million pound investment from multiple sources, including the
Government-backed UK Infrastructure Bank.
Both with green energy and revolutionary technologies,
I look forward to continuing work with the Government and local organisations
to promote and expand the important role Cornwall plays in these vital
industries, now and in the future.
As always, I am fully focused on the job at hand and
if there is ever anything at all I can do to help, then please do not hesitate
to contact me. Please get in touch with me by email at
Cherilyn.mackrory.mp@parliament.uk , or by telephone on 01872 229698. My
regular constituency advice surgeries are held in a covid-safe environment at
my office, so please do get in touch should you wish to meet me about any
matters that I can be of assistance with.
No comments:
Post a Comment