One of the most significant shifts we’ve seen in Wales over the past 12 months is a growing understanding that successful decarbonisation is a shared endeavour.
There’s now a real recognition that regulators, industry, and government are not working in opposition, we are on the same side, with a shared goal of driving forward the net-zero agenda.
At Natural Resources Wales (NRW), we know that planning and consenting processes are critical gateways to unlocking decarbonisation projects. I don’t believe anyone intentionally blocks progress, but bottlenecks and delays can emerge when projects encounter stretched resources, poor-quality applications, or gaps in expertise. Our role as the regulator is to help smooth that path, not by lowering standards but by working more effectively with industry to enable well-designed, sustainable projects to progress swiftly and confidently through the system.
The shift we’ve seen is not just about process, it’s about mindset. Over the past year, we’ve seen a growing commitment to co-production, where regulators and industry engage early and work together to shape high-quality applications from the outset.
When industry partners engage with us early and we collaborate on design and environmental considerations, projects are far more likely to secure consent quickly and proceed at pace. This is because we’ve already worked through potential sticking points together, ensuring the proposal is robust, balanced, and aligned with both environmental standards and decarbonisation goals.
This more collaborative approach is already delivering results. A key example is the partnership we’ve built with Net Zero Industry Wales. In an innovative move, industry has been able to place funding with Net Zero Industry Wales, which then commissions third-party work to support project development. This has allowed us to work more flexibly and collaboratively, reducing the pressure on NRW’s internal resources while enabling a faster and more streamlined process. This type of creative solution shows that when we pool our resources and expertise, we can unlock complex challenges and accelerate progress.
The Welsh Government has also played a crucial role by investing in the system to target key pressure points. This additional funding is helping to build capacity within NRW and across the wider consenting framework, but it’s important to recognise that this is not a quick fix. Recruitment takes time, and there’s a clear skills gap in the sector that we need to address collectively. Industry, regulators, and government must work together to develop the talent pipeline needed to support the scale of the decarbonisation challenge ahead.
What’s encouraging is that the ambition is there. There’s no desire to block progress, quite the opposite. At NRW, we want to enable success. We are investing in more resources, building capability within our teams, and improving the way we engage with industry to ensure that the growing volume of decarbonisation projects can progress at the pace required.
We’ve shown that we can be innovative and solution-focused, but there is more to do. Scaling up will require continued collaboration, shared investment in skills, and a willingness to adapt and improve our processes.
The combined effort we’ve seen over the past year gives me confidence that Wales is on the right path. not just to meet our net-zero targets, but to lead the way in creating a cleaner, greener, and more resilient economy.
Sarah talks about this and more in the recent Net Zero Industries Wales podcast episode “Building the Future – Wales' Path to Clean Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure” listen to the podcast HERE
