According to the study, the onshore wind industry generated £906 million in gross value added revenue to the UK economy in 2014, with £7 in every £10 invested staying in the UK.

The issue is a big one in Shropshire and Mid Wales, with a number of windfarm applications causing controversy across the region. Plans for large-scale windfarms in Powys, currently in the hands of a planning inspector, would also have an impact on Shropshire as pylons would stretch to just north of Oswestry.

Today's report states that more than a quarter of the economic benefits of onshore wind went to the area around the windfarm and almost half stayed in the UK region where the project was located.

The report by BiGGAR Economics for RenewableUK showed that the revenue onshore wind adds to the economy has risen by £358 million since the beginning of 2012, a 65 per cent increase.

A typical onshore windfarm sees investment of £2.97 million per megawatt of capacity over its lifetime, 69 per cent of which stays in the UK, with the local share of contracts in development, construction and operation all rising in the last few years, the study said.

RenewableUK's chief executive Maria McCaffery said the benefits to the UK of British onshore wind energy were "clear to see". She said: "Onshore wind powers local economies, bringing £199 million of investment into the local communities that host windfarms and creating jobs across the supply chain. Despite these facts, onshore wind projects are under threat from misguided Tory and Ukip policies."