The Welsh Government has announced plans to set up a publicly-owned renewable energy firm.
The company - yet to be named - will initially look at developing onshore wind farms on Welsh government-owned woodland estate, which covers 6% of Wales and is largely made up of hilly, windy sites.
Set up in response to energy insecurity, the cost-of-living crisis and the climate emergency, the new firm will launch in April 2024 becoming the only government-run company of its kind in the UK.
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At the moment many of the renewable energy projects in Wales, as in the rest of the UK, are developed by other state-owned companies.
One of Wales' largest onshore wind farms is Pen Y Cymoedd between Aberdare and Neath, which is capable of producing enough energy yearly to power 15% of Welsh homes. It is run by Vattenfall, a Swedish multinational power company owned by the Swedish state.
The scheme delivers land rent, jobs and sizeable community benefit funds, but profits go back to Sweden instead of being reinvested back into Wales.
Another project in South Wales called Y Bryn is being developed by a consortium of Electricity Supply Board (ESB) and Coriolis. ESB is 95% owned by the Irish government. Other state developers active in Wales include China and Norway.
However, Wales' Climate Change Minister Julie James said "significant" profits would be reinvested back into the community as a result of this new state-owned energy firm. Income would also go towards making homes more energy efficient and creating clean energy jobs.
During a statement in the Senedd, Ms James said: “This is a truly historic moment for Wales.
“If other countries are anything to go by then we should expect considerable returns from our investment and – as we share the ambitions of these other nations – we have a genuine opportunity to produce income that will really help us to deliver here.”
She added: “We are in a climate emergency and our approach is in stark contrast to the UK Government that is focusing on fracking and fossil fuels – opposed by most communities and incompatible with our international obligations.”
The minister called the current UK market “bad for bill payers” and said the ambition was to make energy cheaper for Welsh households.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer vowed last month to set up a publicly-owned clean energy company within the party’s first year of government should it come to power.
The government in Cardiff Bay said it had been working on its idea to start a renewable energy business since early 2020.
It is estimated the first projects will begin two to three years after the company launches, with money expected to start rolling in towards the end of the decade.
Limited grid capacity outside the north and south Wales corridors will however constrain the type of projects the government is able to explore.
A report released last week by the UK Government’s Welsh Affairs Committee called Westminster’s lack of action on improving grid connectivity a “significant threat to economic growth in Wales”.
Committee chairman Stephen Crabb MP said Wales had “huge potential” in the renewable energy market and called for grid improvements to be “sped up”.
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