Vision of the energy bay
VIRTUAL EXHIBITION OF GIANT WINDFARM TURBINE IMAGES
THE developers of a new wind farm off the coast of North Wales have opened up a virtual exhibition – with CGI images showing how the turbines will look from various points across the region.
RWE Renewables is leading the development of Awel y Mor –a sister project to Gwynt y Mor Offshore Wind Farm.
It would sit to the west of Gwynt y Mor with the turbines potentially 332 metres tall. There would be between 57 and 107 turbines, depending on the size chosen.
It is tipped to create hundreds of jobs in the development stage and permanent roles once operational – with Gwynt Y Mor currently supporting 100 jobs.
But there are also concerns over the visual impact of the scheme.
Now as part of the exhibition CGI images have been created from various viewing points to give an idea of that impact on the landscape.
They range from Llandudno promenade, around 12km away, to the summit of Snowdon, which is a good 45km from the site.
THE GREAT ORME (Y GOGARTH) - BELOW RIGHT
The Great Orme would give a relatively close up view of the wind farm – positioned around 12km from the site.
The Orme (Y Gogarth) is 207 metres high – more than 100 metres smaller than the potential top of the turbine tips.
COLWYN BAY PROMENADE - BELOW LEFT
The stunning promenade and beach at Colwyn Bay lies around 15km from the proposed site.
MOELFRE HEADLAND, ANGLESEY
The Moelfre headland on the east coast of Anglesey is around 20km from the wind farm – with less visual impact than the views on the coast of Conwy county.
SNOWDON SUMMIT - RIGHT
Despite being 45km away the turbines will be visible from the summit of Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) on a rare clear day.
The full exhibition can be found at www.awelymor. cymru.
Cllr Dyfrig Siencyn, chair of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board, said: “The Awel Y Mor project has the potential to contribute to renewable energy generation and strengthen North Wales’ position as a leading location for low carbon energy generation.
“We encourage local communities to share their views through the public consultation at this early stage of the project’s development.”
Project manager Tamsyn Rowe said: “Ordinarily, we would be talking to people face to face but this year that is just not possible.
“We have tried really hard to create a simple to use platform for people to visit and find out about the project and also invite people to get in touch with us directly.”
People can get in touch via email: awelymor@rwe.com; telephone 0800 197 8232 (during office hours); or instant message the team directly online via the virtual consultation platform on Friday (10am6pm) and Saturday (10am - 1pm), 13-14 and 27-28 November.
Tamsyn Rowe added: “Views are being sought on the cable route to transfer the renewable energy from the wind farm to the National Grid.
“We want this consultation to be as far-reaching as possible so I would urge everyone in the community to take part at this early stage so that we can take on board feedback as the project develops.”
Aberconwy MS Janet Finch
Saunders said: “I welcome this consultation as an important opportunity to gain more information on the scheme.
“However, the full Marine Environmental Impact Assessment and Visual Impact Assessment should be published without delay so that residents have access to all of the facts at hand.”