Key Takeaways
- • Windward Energy, owner of Bute Energy and Green GEN Cymru, denies that Welsh pension fund investment was used to pay its founders dividends before any wind farm project has been completed.
- • Reports by the Times and campaign group ReThink say founders Oliver Millican, Lawson Steele and Stuart George received between £30 million and £58 million in dividends.
- • The payments followed a £68 million investment from the Wales Pension Partnership, the Welsh Government's pension fund, plus multi-million-pound investment from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).
- • Windward says the dividends followed the sale of a partial stake in the business and were "entirely separate" from the Wales Pension Partnership investment.
- • Many proposed Powys and Shropshire wind farms lack planning permission, and the first project, Twyn Hywel Energy Park, is due to be operational in 2027.
Summary
Windward Energy, which owns Bute Energy and Green GEN Cymru, has insisted that Welsh pension fund investment was not used to pay its founders millions of pounds in dividends before any project has been completed. The company is planning a series of large-scale wind farms and pylons across multiple sites in Powys, with the pylon network connecting to the national grid at two sites, one near Llandeilo and another that could involve a new large-scale substation in north Shropshire.
According to reports by the Times and ReThink, a campaign group opposing the wind farms, Windward paid founders Oliver Millican, Lawson Steele and Stuart George a total of between £30 million and £58 million in dividends. The payments came after a £68 million investment from the Wales Pension Partnership, the Welsh Government's pension fund, as well as a multi-million-pound investment from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, a Danish renewables investment firm. Many of the proposed wind farms have not yet received planning permission, and the first project is not expected to be operational until next year.
The company has faced criticism from landowners and farmers, who allege that employees accessed land without permission, a dispute that led to court proceedings in July. Natalie Barstow, a claimant who brought the case against Green GEN Cymru, said she was troubled by the reported payments, arguing that farmers and communities are being asked to sacrifice land and landscapes while directors have reportedly received millions before a wind farm has been built.
In response to an enquiry from the County Times, Windward rejected "the inferences made in recent media coverage" and said its businesses meet all legal, regulatory and statutory obligations. The company argued that renewable projects require years of investment before generating revenue, and that much early investment is recorded as operating costs, so development companies can report accounting losses while building underlying value. It said the dividends followed the sale of a partial stake in the business and its projects, and were entirely separate from the Wales Pension Partnership funding, which it described as directed toward project development to generate returns for pension holders.
Windward pointed to Twyn Hywel Energy Park, under construction since June 2026 and due to be operational in 2027, as evidence of delivery. The company said Bute Energy's projects could generate an estimated £4.5 billion in gross value added for Wales, support around 3,000 jobs and deliver up to £800 million in community benefit funding over their lifetime.
According to reports by the Times and ReThink, a campaign group opposing the wind farms, Windward paid founders Oliver Millican, Lawson Steele and Stuart George a total of between £30 million and £58 million in dividends. The payments came after a £68 million investment from the Wales Pension Partnership, the Welsh Government's pension fund, as well as a multi-million-pound investment from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, a Danish renewables investment firm. Many of the proposed wind farms have not yet received planning permission, and the first project is not expected to be operational until next year.
The company has faced criticism from landowners and farmers, who allege that employees accessed land without permission, a dispute that led to court proceedings in July. Natalie Barstow, a claimant who brought the case against Green GEN Cymru, said she was troubled by the reported payments, arguing that farmers and communities are being asked to sacrifice land and landscapes while directors have reportedly received millions before a wind farm has been built.
In response to an enquiry from the County Times, Windward rejected "the inferences made in recent media coverage" and said its businesses meet all legal, regulatory and statutory obligations. The company argued that renewable projects require years of investment before generating revenue, and that much early investment is recorded as operating costs, so development companies can report accounting losses while building underlying value. It said the dividends followed the sale of a partial stake in the business and its projects, and were entirely separate from the Wales Pension Partnership funding, which it described as directed toward project development to generate returns for pension holders.
Windward pointed to Twyn Hywel Energy Park, under construction since June 2026 and due to be operational in 2027, as evidence of delivery. The company said Bute Energy's projects could generate an estimated £4.5 billion in gross value added for Wales, support around 3,000 jobs and deliver up to £800 million in community benefit funding over their lifetime.
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