Prime minister and Welsh first minister commit to homegrown clean energy

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and Welsh first minister Eluned Morgan have met for the first time in their new roles.

Over a two-day visit, the pair visited a wind farm in west Wales, where they committed to cooperation to unleash the benefits of a publicly owned energy company.

Starmer also pledged to build on work already done by the Welsh Government to establish a publicly owned energy company.

Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru was built from scratch in a year. It is on course to produce 1 GW of clean energy by 2040 – enough to power up to a million homes in Wales.

Great British Energy is part of the Government’s commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower, with clean power by 2030. It is intended to boost the country’s energy independence, so that families and businesses are never left that vulnerable again, and kickstart economic growth.

Starmer said: "We have inherited an incoherent energy policy that has left homes up and down the country vulnerable to rocketing energy bills.

"But the Welsh Government has made important strides that we can now build on, and I am determined that Wales is at the very heart of our mission to make Britain an energy superpower, with renewables powering homes right across the country.

"Great British Energy will put the whole of the United Kingdom on the right path to deliver the independence we need, while helping to deliver lower bills for households and businesses and creating the next generation of skilled jobs."

Morgan, said: "Our publicly-owned renewable energy developer, Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru, is a long-term sustainable investment that puts net zero and the communities of Wales at the heart of the energy transition.

"While the previous UK government focused on fracking and fossil fuels – opposed by most communities and incompatible with our international obligations – we took positive action to ensure we deliver on our environmental commitments.

"Harvesting our wind and using it to produce power offers us, and the people of Wales, the ability to own the returns on what will be a significant investment."