The Welsh government has announced plans to set up a state-owned energy developer. The new company will help Wales deliver its aim of hosting more than 1GW of locally-owned generation by 2030.
Initially it will focus on rolling out wind farms on the Welsh government’s woodland estate. The Welsh government has been encouraging renewable development on the woodland estate since 2005, in which time Natural Resources Wales has overseen the installation of four onshore wind projects totalling 441MW, with a further 134MW in development.

Surplus funds generated through the new developer will go back into the public purse to be reinvested in improving energy efficiency in homes in Wales and creating clean energy jobs.

Announcing the plan on 25 October, Wales’s minister for climate change, Julie James, said that like elsewhere in the UK, some renewable energy projects on the Welsh Government woodland estate have been developed by state-owned energy developers, meaning profits go back to those countries.

She said, “We want to harvest our wind and use it to produce power that directly benefits people in Wales.
“We will 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.”
She added, ““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 an income that will really help us to deliver here.
“We are taking positive action to ensure we deliver on our net zero commitments in ways that benefit our communities.”