TENS of thousands of megawatts per hour of renewable energy were produced in Wrexham last year, figures show, as the Prime Minister pledges a green industrial revolution across the UK.

PM Boris Johnson said the coronavirus crisis should be used as a catalyst to make the UK the world leader in offshore wind power generation, creating thousands of jobs in the process.

But with the plans focusing largely on offshore wind farms, the Solar Trade Association said solar energy has a significant role to play, and was "noticeably absent" from the speech.

Figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy show 58,130 megawatts per hour (around 58 gigawatts) of renewable electricity were generated in Wrexham in 2019.

More than double (55 per cent) the amount of energy than the 37 GWh produced in 2014, the earliest year of data available.

Two thirds (66 per cent) of energy in Wrexham last year was solar power, with a total of 38,361 MWh generated.

This was followed by landfill gas, which is created by the decomposition of organic materials in a landfill (27 per cent), and anaerobic digestion, which is the breakdown of organic material by micro-organisms to produce biogas – which generated a further 2,345MWh (four per cent).

Renewable electricity generated around a third of the UK's total energy last year (120,675 GWh) – almost double the amount it did in 2014.

Offshore wind farms, which are turbines located at sea, and onshore wind farms, based on land, were each responsible for 27% of the UK's total, but the Government's plan focuses largely on those in the water.

Downing Street said the £160 million investment programme will enable the sector to support up to 60,000 jobs by 2030, upping the target for offshore wind from 30 to 40 gigawatts.

Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference, Mr Johnson said: “Your kettle, your washing machine, your cooker, your heating, your plug-in electric vehicle – the whole lot of them will get their juice cleanly and without guilt from the breezes that blow around these islands.

“As Saudi Arabia is to oil, the UK is to wind – a place of almost limitless resource, but in the case of wind without the carbon emissions and without the damage to the environment."

Chris Hewett, chief executive of the Solar Trade Association, said: “It is encouraging that the Prime Minister is embracing renewables, but this must not be limited to large bits of kit.

"Solar energy was noticeably absent from yesterday’s speech, when it has a significant role to play in supporting a green recovery and shifting the UK towards a low-carbon economy.

"Today, solar technologies power more than a million homes and are vital in delivering flexible, affordable electricity and thousands of quality jobs across the country."