Wales has invited public consultation on its plans to launch a single public company to bring together its public energy functions
The plan aims to give Wales a bigger role in developing and owning clean energy assets
The proposed company would build on existing programs and develop renewable energy, battery storage, and local energy projects
The Welsh Government plans to launch a publicly owned energy company that could give Wales a greater role in developing and owning clean energy assets. The proposed company would invest in renewable energy projects, battery storage, and local energy systems to help lower energy costs over time.
Adam Price, Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy, said this was a promise made under its manifesto. The Welsh Government has now opened the proposal for public consultation.
The proposal is intended to bring together existing energy functions and give Wales greater capacity to develop projects and retain more of the value generated by its energy resources, the administration explains.
The proposed company would build on the work of the government-owned wind energy projects developer Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru, the community energy program Ynni Cymru, and other relevant functions of the Welsh Government Energy Service.
The government said the current system is spread across several organizations, which can make it difficult to navigate and can lead to missed opportunities to coordinate investment and delivery.
Under the proposal, the government plans to make Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru the basis of the new company, which will develop utility-scale wind and solar energy projects on public land while also exploring wider opportunities and partnerships.
It will build on Ynni Cymru's work to help communities, councils, and public bodies own and use energy locally through distributed energy, battery storage, flexibility services and smart local energy systems. These systems would better match local generation with demand.
The government said its existing structure could help the new company become operational more quickly.
The consultation also proposes giving the company a role in shared ownership. It could take equity stakes in larger renewable projects on behalf of communities where they lack the capacity to participate directly.
It could help businesses deal with short-term grid constraints by bringing together local power generation, battery storage, and flexible energy use. It could also support on-site renewable power through behind-the-meter (BTM) solutions. The government is also considering whether the company could help accelerate grid connections by acting as an intermediary.
Another proposed function is to make Wales a test bed for new energy approaches. This could include smart local energy systems, local energy markets, hydrogen, and flexibility technologies. “Our ambition for Wales is that we become a country of experimentation; a sandbox at national level, testing new approaches and benefiting from the cutting-edge knowledge we are developing. We have an opportunity to de-risk GB-wide reform by trialling and proving it in Wales first,” it explains.
The consultation is also examining how to use existing funding and resources more efficiently, including establishing a Welsh Energy Wealth Fund. It says the proposed company could eventually work with public and private finance partners to develop and finance a portfolio of energy projects.
However, the company would not replace existing energy suppliers, set household electricity prices, or displace private investment. Private investment would remain essential, with the public company intended to work alongside private investors.
“The company is intended as the practical delivery arm of the National Energy Strategy we have committed to publish. It is not intended to be a replacement for private investment, but a collaborator with and shaper of it, and a means of ensuring that Wales holds a stronger stake in what gets built,” explained the energy ministry.
The consultation, launched on September 7, 2026, is open until November 30, 2026, on the government website.
Under its Renewable Energy Sector Deal announced in March 2026, the Welsh Government aims to achieve 70% renewable electricity by 2030, and 100% by 2035 (see Wales Targets 1.5 GW Locally Owned RE Capacity By 2035).
