First Minister Eluned Morgan has said the people of Powys will need to “make a contribution” to Wales’ renewable energy future, as she defended onshore wind developments against criticism from Brecon and Radnorshire MS James Evans.

In the Senedd yesterday, Mr Evans called on the Welsh Government to prohibit onshore wind developments in Wales.

But Ms Morgan said the country has to make the most of its resources and reduce its dependence on imported energy.

Mr Evans said: “Communities across Mid Wales feel utterly ignored as our beautiful countryside is being targeted by speculative and often opaque wind farm developers, many of them driven by profit and not any genuine commitment to sustainability or community development.

“These massive projects threaten jobs, tourism and the very character of the landscape across Mid Wales.

“They do not support environmental benefits or sustainability. If you take into consideration the transport cost, the impact of construction and the wider grid infrastructure connections, they're not as environmentally friendly as wind farms let on that they are.

“It’s clear that these onshore developments are going to damage rural Wales.

“Isn’t it right now that the Welsh Government puts a line under this and bans onshore wind development across Wales in the interests of all those communities that are going to be affected by these proposals?”

Ms Morgan said the war in Ukraine made our energy prices shoot up, and they're still “incredibly high”.

She told Mr Evans: “To avoid this from being our fate in future, it's essential for us to improve our energy security and reduce our dependence on imported energy.

“With our abundance of natural resources, we're in an ideal position in Wales to ramp up our renewable energy contribution and at the same time address climate change challenges.

“Our policy is to scale-up renewable energy projects in Wales, including both offshore and onshore, creating valuable jobs and bringing investment to our communities.

“Our Labour Government thinks that climate change is real, and it's a serious issue that needs to be addressed. What we need to do is to make sure that we play our part in addressing the climate issue.

“What we also know is that by 2050, we expect to see a three-fold increase in the amount of electricity used in Wales.

“How do you propose that we can fix that unless we have continued dependence on people from other countries?”

The First Minister said Wales is feeling the impact of high energy prices caused by the country’s heavy reliance on imported energy.

She said: “Job creation is key in this sector, and at the weekend we heard that 15,000 jobs are going to be created as a result of renewable energy.

“That is not something I'm going to apologise for. It is something I'm going to triumph.

“It is something that I'm going to be proud of. I'm going to make sure that people in Powys have opportunities to get involved in developing those wind farms, that they have green skills available to them and that we deliver for the people of Wales.

“In future, the people of Powys will need to make a contribution, as the people of the valleys did for over a century when the coal was there.”

Several onshore wind farm project are currently at different stages of development across Powys, including the latest proposal - Garreg Fawr Energy Park, a 22-turbine scheme planned around nine kilometres north-west of Brecon.