Article by Graham Winter and David Millett
The map below shows the distribution of solar farms/solar parks in Wales that are operational or under construction in October 2015. 
Solar farms operating in Wales (October 2015). Data sourced from REPD. This is an update of a map we published in February 2015 and shows a significant increase in the number of operational projects since earlier in the year. The data is taken from DECC’s Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD). As with the previous version of the map, it can be seen that solar farm development has so far been concentrated in south and west Wales. The second map below shows solar projects that have been granted planning permission but not yet built and also those where a planning application has been submitted but not yet decided upon. This suggests that there could be a growth of solar farms in north Wales, as well as more projects in the south and west. 
Solar farms in the planning system in Wales (October 2015). Data sourced from REPD. How many of the solar projects currently in the planning system will actually be built is uncertain. The UK Government has reduced, and in some cases stopped subsidies for larger solar projects. The Renewables Obligation closed to large-scale (>5 Megawatts) solar PV from 1 April 2015. From 2015 solar farms are no longer eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme of the Common Agricultural Policy as the predominant activity on the land is not agricultural. Funding is still be available for smaller-scale (<5MW) installations through the Feed-In-Tariff scheme. However the UK Government has been consulting on a review of the Feed-In-Tariffs that, if confirmed, will reduce the tariff paid for electricity generated by solar schemes of between 1 and 5 MW to 1.03 pence/kWh, down from 4.28 pence/kWh.
