First Minister Eluned Morgan has described a £600 million investment in green energy projects for Wales as “a real vote of confidence in the renewable energy sector”.
Global renewables investor Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) will take a significant minority equity stake in both onshore wind developer Bute Energy and its sister company and grid developer Green GEN Cymru.
Bute Energy has built a pipeline of energy park projects in Wales, which it says will combine the latest technology for onshore wind and solar generation to provide projects that will be “delivering the biggest business investment in rural Wales in a generation”.
The company said:
“This represents an industry-leading investment which could see our company become the UK’s largest independent generator of renewable energy by 2030.
“Our plans are a direct response to the Welsh Government’s target for 100% of the nation’s annual electricity consumption to come from renewable sources by 2035. We’re aiming to meet 25% of this target while also contributing up to 18% of the new UK Government’s target of doubling onshore wind by 2030.”
The investment was announced at Senghenydd Community Centre in South Wales at an event attended by the First Minister.
She said:
“We are really keen to make sure that we drive forward this renewable energy revolution, but we've got to make sure that we get the best for Wales out of it, that we get jobs in our local communities, and that the communities see the benefit.
“We’ve got to get this balance right. We need to make sure that we go forward together, that we land this investment and that we get jobs and opportunities for our communities as a result.”
The Welsh Government has a target of at least 1.5 GW of renewable energy capacity to be locally-owned by 2035.
Bute Energy has committed to 25% of its Community Benefit Fund being made available to deliver community-owned, smaller scale energy projects. These will be gifted to community organisations, providing an income stream that will support services in the communities nearest its energy parks.
Speaking at the launch Dave Brunton, chair of Aber Valley Partnership, welcomed news of the investment, saying:
“It really confirms and affirms that there's going to be investment put into the community, developed with us, not in spite of us. People might put money into it – we put ourselves into it as a community. This is the very first step of the community taking control of their own environment.”
Bute Energy says its family of wind energy parks stands to create up to 2,000 jobs and an “industry-leading” social value standard which will enable contracted suppliers to give back to the local community through things like job opportunities, further investment or giving their time to offer their expertise and upskilling.
Stuart George, managing director of Bute Energy, said:
“We’re incredibly proud of our partnership with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and the opportunities this investment will provide to businesses and communities across Wales.
“We’re at the forefront of Wales’ mission to power the nation with clean energy, creating jobs, boosting the Welsh supply chain and providing transformational opportunities for local people.
“This investment is a vote of confidence by one of the biggest global investors in renewable energy in Wales and in Bute Energy’s plans to deliver the single largest investment in onshore wind in Wales.
“2025 promises to be another busy year for Bute Energy. With 10 energy parks in the planning system, the company aims to have six of those projects on the Cabinet Secretary’s desk for decision by this summer of 2025. These projects would provide another 1GW of new energy capacity – enough to power 1 million homes.”
Ed Miliband, UK Government Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, said:
“This is a significant investment and vote of confidence in our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.
“Businesses across the country are seizing the economic opportunities of clean energy, driving growth and investment into communities and securing our energy system.
“Renewable energy will be front and centre of our clean power system, with companies like Bute Energy and Green GEN Cymru delivering the projects the UK needs to bring down energy bills, protect our energy security, and create good jobs for the future.”
