The Welsh Government’s funding of Carmarthenshire Energy Limited

The Welsh Government’s funding of Carmarthenshire Energy Limited

The Auditor General for Wales published a report on The Welsh Government’s funding of Carmarthenshire Energy Limited in July 2017.

 

The Welsh Government provided a preparatory grant of £25,000 and a repayable construction loan of £785,000 from its Renewable Energy Support Programme to Carmarthenshire Energy Limited (a not for profit enterprise), to go towards the construction of a 500kW wind turbine at Salem in Carmarthenshire.

 

The Welsh Government programme aimed to increase the number of small-scale, locally-owned renewable energy installations in Wales. CELT2 was constructed by commercial developer Seren Energy and then bought by Carmarthenshire Energy Limited for £1.5 million using £785,000 of Welsh Government funding as well as private finance.

 

CELT2 started generating electricity in September 2016 and the revenues from the sale of this electricity have facilitated repayment of loan instalments ahead of schedule as well as paying for a number of local schemes such as dry-stone walls, solar panels and battery storage in the nearby village hall.

 

The Public Accounts Committee considered the Report in the autumn 2017 term and concurred that as the governance concerns had been addressed through the recommendations in the report, the Members agreed not to undertake an inquiry into this issue.

Business type: Other

Status: Complete

First published: 24/07/2017

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