Cadno Communications Ltd

Yesterday, Cadno had the pleasure of welcoming students from Pembrokeshire College's Destination Renewables programme to the Senedd. We were lucky to be joined by Senedd Member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Samuel Kurtz MS. Together we presented to learners about the role of politicians, public affairs and policymaking in the development of renewable energy. A huge thank you to the Senedd for hosting us and to Sam for generously sharing his time on a busy parliamentary day!

Great fun at the Cadno Christmas do yesterday, we escaped the Sherlock Holmes room at Escape Rooms Cardiff with 7 minutes to spare. Special mentions go to Daniel Taylor and Ewan Alexander 's knowledge of chess and love of word games, and Angharad Davies ability to unscrew a lock by feel alone!

Today the team had another teach-in, this time with John Craig and Poppy Tremayne from RWE, covering finance for offshore wind, CfD and routes to market. As public affairs and comms professionals, we don't see this side of the projects we work on and it was fascinating to learn about the economics at play. Diolch, John!

Cadno's Angharad Davies joined the panel at last night's 'Connecting Energy Professionals in Cardiff' event hosted by Eversheds Sutherland Energy, which focused on the evolving political landscape. For the first time in 14 years, there are Labour governments at both ends of the M4 and a clear willingness from Welsh and UK ministers to deliver on renewable energy. However, the scale of the challenge is huge and robust political leadership is required to overcome major barriers such as grid and planning. As we look ahead to the 2026 Senedd Elections, Wales' political landscape is set to change with a new electoral system and Senedd expansion. Some form of coalition arrangement is inevitable; will future coalition partners have the same willingness to develop large-scale infrastructure to meet our ambitious renewable energy goals?

Monday's session of the Senedd Cross Party Group on Renewable and Low Carbon Energy was a great success, with a record number (73) of attendees from the Senedd, Welsh Government and across the industry.   Chaired by Delyth Jewell MS, the CPG was delighted to have the opportunity to hear from Abi Beck, Jack Pugsley, Paul Maile and Eleri Davies.   Here are the key messages & findings from the session: 1️⃣ Wales has a c.£47bn renewable energy investment opportunity by 2035, promising economic growth, job creation, and community benefits. 2️⃣ Recent planning consents for major projects are a positive step, but faster planning and deployment are crucial to meet Wales’ 2030 and 2035 renewable energy targets. 3️⃣ The Welsh Government must be careful not to ‘give with one hand and take with the other’. Potential policy contradictions, for example regarding peat, national parks and land classification, could undermine renewable energy benefits. 4️⃣ Wales risks losing investment to Scotland and England without stable policies to maintain investor confidence and competitiveness. 5️⃣ There are two governments of the same party at either end of the M4 for the first time in 14 years, who are largely aligned on the urgency of the climate crisis. This could be beneficial to the industry, especially when it comes to the all-important issue of grid upgrades. 6️⃣ RenewableUK Cymru and IPPR are working in partnership on a report due to be published before Christmas. It calls for an All Nations Renewables Team comprising industry, governments, and key stakeholders such as NESO and Ofgem, to provide a laser-like focus on accelerating renewables.   If you are interested in hearing more about the work of the CPG, please get in touch with Daniel Taylor.

Over the weekend we were in Powys supporting RWE 's informal consultation for the proposed Carnedd Wen Wind Farm in Llanbrynmair Forest 🌟 Considering a layout of 28 turbines 🌟 184 MW 🌟 200m tip height 🌟 Enough electricity for approx 179,000 homes 🌟 Community investment package and shared ownership www.rwe.com/carneddwen

It was great to see so many women at the Women in Public Affairs (WiPA) Cymru launch today. Judging by the turnout, there is clearly a huge appetite for events like this. The panel were extremely generous in their advice, with great insights and stories.

Our Director Angharad Davies will be on the panel at the Women in Public Affairs (WiPA) Cymru launch today. It's exciting to see this group being established in Wales and we're looking forward to meeting women working in the industry #PublicAffairs

The Cadno team (Angharad Davies, Sarah Jones, Daniel Taylor and Ewan Alexander) attended RenewableUK Cymru's Future Energy Wales 2024 this week. Here are a FEW reflections: #RUKFEW24 #energy #wales

Angharad Davies and Daniel Taylor are attending Welsh Labour Conference in Llandudno this weekend. Please let us know if you are attending and would like to catch up! #renewables #energy #wales #politics