Windfarms have operated in Wales for more than 20 years, but, arguably, have never before been so much in the news.

Given the sharp and potentially long-term increase in electricity wholesale prices, together with an increased need for energy self-sufficiency in an unstable global order, the business case for wind power has strengthened dramatically during 2022.

But what has been learnt about the real world financial performance of windfarms in the UK.  Are onshore windfarms now a profitable investment, for instance, for older Welsh citizens, with a little cash to invest, and a desire to save money on rising energy bills whilst also doing their bit for the environment? Or are they an illusion: loss making projects whose locked-in investors will realise, only too late, that their investment will never be fully returned?

Should the government encourage the development of new community-owned windfarms, leveraging a potentially huge source of private capital to finance a dramatic expansion of wind power? Or should government invest in game-changing large-scale onshore windfarm developments as a key part of their Net Zero plans? If so, should government subsidies be reintroduced to drive the necessary rapid development of the industry, and, if so, at what level should they be set?

Or, now that the industry is established, can onshore windfarms be safely left to develop naturally in the hands of the market?

Many words have been written, and will be written, about this matter of high public concern. This website looks at the numbers.