QUARRY POWER PLANT GO-AHEAD
WORK COULD START IN 2018 ON SCHEME FROM PADARN
A £100m hydro-electric power plant in Snowdonia has been given the go head by Energy Secretary Greg Clark.
Snowdonia Pumped Hydro (SPH) had submitted proposals to use water from Llyn Padarn to operate a pumped storage plant in a disused quarry at nearby Glyn Rhonwy, Llanberis.
Designs had been sent to the UK Planning Inspectorate who then sent them to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Greg Clark who announced his decision last week.
SPH’s parent company is the London-based Quarry Battery Company (QBC).
The scheme will generate electricity by releasing water from a reservoir on higher ground to a second, lower reservoir.
QBC said the scheme would create 100 jobs during a three-year construction phase and 30 long-term jobs, as well as supporting another 200 jobs through the supply chain.
Dave Holmes, Snowdonia Pumped Hydro managing director, said they’d been “crossing our fingers” that they would be given the go-ahead. Building work could start in 2018. Mr Holmes said: “Some 700 MWhs of electricity, sufficient to supply 200,000 homes with electricity for seven hours a day over a projected operational lifetime of 125 years or more.”
Any legal challenge against the decision must be made within six weeks.
The decision was welcomed by Arfon MP Hywel Williams and AM Siân Gwenllian.
Mr Williams said: “This scheme will be the UK’s first new grid-scale power storage facility in more than 30 years and is a welcome investment in Llanberis.
“I hope measures will be put in place to mitigate any disruption during the construction phase of this scheme; the interests of local people must be secured.
“I will be pressing to ensure that local communities and community councils in particular, receive sufficient financial contributions as a consequence of this development.
“Where concerns have been raised, it is essential that steps are taken to address these with relevant parties, particularly issues surrounding environmental matters.”
Siân Gwenllian AM said: “Developing new renewable sources of energy is vital for Wales and I’m pleased to hear that the Glyn Rhonwy scheme has been given the go-ahead. The Arfon area is quickly becoming an internationally recognised area for green energy. We already have Europe’s largest pumped storage scheme (Dinorwig) and a growing number of small, community-led hydro schemes.
“The concerns of local people about Glyn Rhonwy need addressing and I hope there will be an announcement shortly about the financial community grants that need to be made available locally as a result of this.”
Gwynedd Council had received feedback in favour of and against the plant.
Concerns were expressed over the impact on the environment and wildlife habitats, while supporters pointed to the benefits of a green energy scheme on the local economy.
Local environmentalists expressed concern at the impact on the area. The Snowdonia Society was worried about the effect on wildlife, culture and heritage.
The area has been at the centre of ambitious schemes in the past, including a holiday village, an indoor ski centre and a mountain biking facility.