IN A week that has seen the Crown Estate accelerate its plans for floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea near west Wales, and a new proposal for green hydrogen production in north Pembrokeshire, local MP Stephen Crabb has hailed the county’s potential as a clean energy hub.

Mr Crabb welcomed the proposal by Norwegian renewables company Statkraft for a green hydrogen plant at the old MOD site at Trecwn.

Using a mix of solar and wind power, the plant would generate around three tonnes of green hydrogen daily.

“This is an exciting proposal which certainly fits with Pembrokeshire’s emerging status as a key location for clean energy investment,” said Mr Crabb.

“It has the potential to breathe new life into an historically important site.

“It’s important that Statkraft now works closely with the local community to explain the project and demonstrate the benefits for people living in Trecwn.”

The Crown Estate, owners of the seabed around England and Wales, intend to speed up their timetable for leasing areas for floating offshore wind development in the Celtic Sea.

Last week Mr Crabb met with Crown Estate Chief Executive Dan Labbad to discuss these plans and the potential benefits to Pembrokeshire.

“With this decision by the Crown Estate, we are an important step closer to seeing the development of floating offshore wind power close to Pembrokeshire,” he said.

“There is a clear investment opportunity here for Milford Haven and other ports in South Wales and I will continue to push for the Haven Waterway to become a key site for this new industry.”

But Mr Crabb also warned that further investment could be held back by lack of capacity on the electricity grid.

“While there are a number of exciting opportunities emerging for investment in clean energy in Pembrokeshire, the blunt truth is that we need better grid infrastructure and capacity if we are to see them all come to fruition,” he said.

“At a time when many local businesses are looking to cut energy costs by investing in their own clean energy solutions, it’s frustrating to hear them being knocked back time and again by lack of grid capacity.”