Climate: Wales to set up publicly-owned renewable energy firm

Plans to set up a new publicly-owned renewable energy company have been announced by the Welsh government.

The plan is a UK first and will help tackle both the cost of living and climate crises, the Labour-run government said.

Ministers added that energy profits could be ploughed back into local communities.

Opposition parties meanwhile called for the new organisation to get up and running quickly.

Initially the new company - which is yet to be named - will focus on developing windfarms on Welsh government-owned woodland.

It would be modelled on other state-owned firms currently operating in Wales.

For instance, the largest onshore windfarm in Wales, Pen y Cymoedd between Neath and Aberdare - which is also bigger than anything similar in England - is run by an offshoot of the Swedish government.

While the schemes deliver land rent, jobs and sizeable community benefit funds, the profits are ultimately shipped back to their respective countries, rather than being reinvested in Wales.

Speaking in the Senedd, Climate Change Minister Julie James said she wanted to ensure energy profits generated in Wales delivered "greater benefit" for local people.

Funds could be used for initiatives such as better energy efficiency measures like home insulation for communities living near the new windfarms, she suggested.

"If other countries are anything to go by, then we should expect considerable returns from our investment," she said, describing the plan as a "truly historic moment for Wales".

"We are the first in the UK to set up a publicly-owned renewable energy developer. This is a long-term sustainable investment that puts net zero and the communities of Wales at the heart of the transition we need."

The aim is for the new company to be set up by April 2024, with the first projects achieving planning consent towards the end of the decade.

Ms James said the new firm would also work with community-based and commercial energy developers to work on joint ventures.

Meanwhile a separate organisation is being set up as part of the Labour-run administration's cooperation agreement with Plaid Cymru to drive forward small-scale community energy projects.

The Welsh government woodland estate covers 6% of Wales and is largely made up of hilly, windy sites.

Renewable energy firms have been encouraged to develop on this land in recent decades, with four projects totalling 441 megawatts (MW) worth of onshore wind installed since 2005, and a further 134 MW still in development.

The government said its new state-owned developer would help deliver its aim of securing more than 1 gigawatts (GW) of locally-owned generation by 2030, enough to supply approximately 750,000 homes.

The plans are similar to those announced by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer last month for "Great British Energy", though the Welsh government said its proposals have been in development for several years.

Welsh Conservative spokesperson on climate change Janet Finch-Saunders MS questioned whether the new organisation could get up and running more quickly than April 2024.

Plaid Cymru's Delyth Jewell said that "we need to act much more urgently" when delivering new schemes.