It would be "utter madness" to scrap the tidal lagoon power project planned for Swansea Bay, according to Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron.
In a speech at the party's Welsh conference on Saturday Farron called on the government to give the project its full backing without further delay, adding that the project is now a "litmus test" for Prime Minister David Cameron's commitment to clean energy.
The future for the £1bn project - which is currently awaiting a final funding decision from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) - is uncertain after Cameron told a committee of MPs last month that his enthusiasm for tidal technology is "waning" over cost fears.
Farron said the Swansea tidal project would provide hundreds of jobs for local residents and give a secure energy supply for the next 120 years.
"It would be utter madness for the government to pull further investment from the renewable sector, which generates economic growth and jobs," he said.
"We have been a world leader in this field and maintaining that status is now in jeopardy. The Tidal Lagoon is a litmus test for the government. Do you care about this agenda? Or was it all for show?"
Farron went on to warn that progress on clean energy made under the Coalition government is being swiftly unravelled by the Conservatives.
"For five years we fought sceptical Tories to ensure the Coalition was the greenest government ever. In the last six months this progress has been unraveling at an alarming pace," he said.
"It is shameful that the work we began in Coalition to deliver this is being unpicked. Britain should be leading the world in the green economy and setting an example to other nations after the UN talks in Paris."
The government has consistently maintained that the cuts to renewable subsidies are necessary to keep a lid on household bills, and insists it remains fully committed to the UK's decarbonisation targets.
In October the Swansea lagoon developers Tidal Lagoon Power were forced to delay the start of construction on the project to spring 2017, as negotiations with the government to agree a strike price for the plant grind on. In November, the firm announced it was cutting almost 20 per cent of its workforce as a result of the 12-month delay.
However, hopes of a final agreement were lifted last week with the announcement that Indian commodity tycoons the Gupta family have invested £10m to buy a stake in Tidal Lagoon Power, labelling the firm an "ambitious and innovative" enterprise to deliver low-carbon baseload energy. Tidal Lagoon Power has said it remains "fully confident" that it can secure a price support contract with DECC.
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