Green GEN Cymru have said that underground cabling would make their wind farm connection project “unviable”.

The company behind an ambitious project to connect multiple wind farms across mid-Wales has said the financial cost of putting cables underground would be five times the cost of overhead pylons.

Green GEN Cymru, part of the same group as Bute Energy but a separate legal entity, has proposed the Vyrynwy Frankton project to connect seven of the Bute Energy wind farms proposed to be built across mid-Wales.

To do this, they plan to build 45km of overhead lines connecting the wind farms to the national grid at Lower Frankton, Shropshire.

The company has received widespread backlash against the plans, which would erect 28.5m pylons every 280 metres, with concerns being raised over protected landscapes.

Many called for underground cabling to be used instead.

Responding to these calls, a Green GEN spokesperson said: “We recently commissioned independent analysis that shows the cost of undergrounding to be at least five times higher than overhead lines.

“This is new data that supports the conclusions of numerous other reviews by the industry.

“These costs would make our projects unviable.”

This was in response to the Welsh Countryside Charity CPRW’s 14-page report, submitted to their recent public consultation.

CPRW called for evidence of costs to back up the claim that underground cabling was too costly, which CPRW cited was the “preferred” method by Welsh Government.

Caerfyrddin MP Ann Davies has been a fierce campaigner on underground cabling, who said: “No one denies that we need more electricity infrastructure, but it's the way they’re doing it.

“If underground cabling is good enough for Belgium, Holland or Denmark, where Bute Energy originates, then it's good enough for Wales.

“We wouldn’t have had half of the power outages during Storm Darragh if all our lines were underground, as it was mostly caused by trees which downed cables.”

CPRW demanded the company also show their working for other issues, including Green GEN potentially failing to coordinate with other electricity distributors with this project, and that the scale and voltage of the project are necessary.

The report also demanded answers to the claim that the project would enhance the local grid for mid-Wales.

Green GEN claim the infrastructure is necessary to “add capacity to the local network, and address the climate emergency by providing the necessary infrastructure to connect green energy to the grid”.

On this, a Green GEN spokesperson added: “We welcome all contributions to our consultations and encourage communities, local groups and organisations to make their voices heard.

“Their feedback helps to inform our designs and project plans.

“We review and respond to the feedback we receive in detail as part of the consultation process.

“The infrastructure we are building is vital to meeting Wales’ net zero commitments, building a robust and reliable green energy network, and giving everyone in Wales a share in a cleaner future.”

The company has also received criticism for taking 10 landowners to court last month for refusing access to their land for surveys.