Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Real money or more spin?
The website says that senior politicians including First Minister Eluned Morgan, UK Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband and Wales Office Minister Dame Nia Griffith have praised the plans, which are backed by Danish investment firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and will supposedly create 2,000 jobs.
However, they add that multiple industry figures have raised serious concerns that the £600m investment is not real but rather a speculative estimate entirely contingent on planning approvals for highly controversial wind and grid projects:
One senior Welsh industry insider described the situation as “yet more snake oil being swallowed by the Welsh Government. They haven’t got a clue when it comes to the private sector, and they’re being hoodwinked into going along with PR guff. It’s incredibly naïve. We’re now in a situation where ministers are undermining their own planning process and could end up facing judicial challenges on the basis that decisions have been pre-determined. This could cost the taxpayer a fortune.”
Another source familiar with the situation added: “This smacks of two governments desperate for good news, grabbing anything to announce without checking the details. No serious due diligence appears to have been done on this £600m claim, yet ministers are now endorsing it as fact. They’re setting themselves up for a fall.”
We asked the UK and Welsh governments a series of questions arising from the concerns:
* On what basis has the £600m investment figure been presented as fact, given that it appears to be entirely dependent on planning decisions yet to be made?
* What due diligence has been undertaken by the Welsh Government and/or UK Government to verify the credibility of this investment claim before publicly endorsing it?
*Given the ongoing planning processes, does the public backing of a specific investment not risk undermining the integrity of these decisions?
* The companies involved claim that 2,000 jobs will be created. Has this figure been independently assessed? How many of these jobs are expected to be permanent, full-time roles in Wales, as opposed to temporary construction roles or supply chain impacts abroad?
* Does the government accept that onshore wind is generally a low-employment industry post-construction, and if so, how does it justify promoting such high job numbers?
* Will the Welsh Government or UK Government commit to publishing any independent economic assessments underpinning these investment and job claims?
* What safeguards are in place to ensure that government backing of these projects does not expose planning decisions to legal challenges over pre-determination?
Nation Cymru have also posed questions to Bute Energy, who have confirmed that their investment is subject to achieving planning and other key development milestones. They say that like any major infrastructure investment, this funding is linked to project approvals, regulatory progress and other key project milestones.
We have already had issues with job estimates over the Baglan Energy Park so these are perfectly legitimate questions. Let's hope that the promise is fulfilled.
