banding for wind and its concern over UK legislation.103 The Welsh government is not in a position to participate effectively in this debate. Another example is in the area of energy mix. As the Welsh government does not have responsibility for energy generation over 50 MW capacity, it is not in a position, as is Scotland, to decide whether it wishes to develop nuclear power. This is clearly a contentious issue, but it is one that should be decided in Wales, not London, particularly when the generating capacity is so clearly far greater than that required by the Welsh market and the project is designed to service the needs of the English market. This raises the wider issue of the way in which energy policy in the UK may evolve over the coming years. The development of renewable energy, and particularly those types which are still in their infancy, such as tidal, will continue to depend significantly on a stable subsidy regime being available to encourage investment. This system is on the cusp of being changed and it is vital that as and when the Energy Bill is passed its implications are understood as soon as possible, both with regard to the new mechanism of providing support to the renewable energy industry and with regard to the pricing framework that will apply if and when the Renewable Obligation is abolished. Energy policy is both complex and long term as well as of huge importance. In order to both formulate and implement such policy it is arguable that Wales requires an institution with the specialist skills to carry out this role on behalf of government. As outlined above the role that energy plays is crucial to a modern economy. To the extent that policy making and implementation does not lie within the remit of the Welsh government it will be significantly inhibited in respect of the way in which it can influence the economic prospects and potential well-being of its people. It will be dependent on the policy priorities of its larger neighbour. The example of Glas Cymru, which owns Dŵr Cymru, shows that there are alternative ways of carrying out business, particularly in the utility sector, which are perfectly commercial but are different from the standard corporate private sector approach. The distinctiveness of this divergent approach may not have been so easily discernible in the early days of Glas Cymru, but at a time when a number of water utilities in England are owned by foreign investors and subject to a series of further take-over rumours, the advantages of the not for distributable profit model are becoming increasingly apparent. In principle the absence of the need to pay out dividends to shareholders, the reduction of its outstanding debt and the sharing of retained profits between further investment and customers should all enhance the competitive position of Glas Cymru going forward. The applicability of this model to the Welsh economy should be borne in mind. It is clear that it would be impractical even if it were desirable, to ‘nationalise’ existing energy assets. However in formulating policy in respect of the creation of future energy assets, consideration of the method of ownership and control of those assets should be considered in order to ensure that the value that energy generation creates as well as the energy itself is for the benefit of the Welsh people. In particular, although new energy assets must be financed at the market rate this will depend to an important extent on the predictability of the cashflow that they generate.
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http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2012/07/onshore-wind-RoCs23072012
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