Views sought on windfarm plan
A PROPOSED new windfarm could provide energy for thousands of homes in the Valleys, developers say.
Bute Energy thinks the development of the site, which would be called Twyn Hywel Energy Park, has the opportunity to play a “historic role” in Wales’ transition to”clean, green energy” and to create long-term community benefits.
If the plan goes ahead a windfarm would be built on the site located north of Senghenydd, situated on the border of Caerphilly and Rhondda Cynon Taf.
It’s hoped up to 20 turbines will be built on the site which will have the potential to power between 70,000 and 114,000 homes per year.
The majority of the site is located within a Pre-Assessed Area for Wind Energy in Future Wales: The National Plan 2040 by the Welsh Government.
Bute Energy vows to minimise the environmental impact of infrastructure and - in turn - support the local economies surrounding Twyn Hywel.
The company has spent the past two years undertaking detailed assessments of the site, and much more work is set to be completed before the planning application is submitted. It hopes the final application will be ready for submission by August 2022.
A description of the plan on the project website reads: “We are proposing to employ the latest technology including turbines with tip heights of up to 200m at Twyn Hywel, with the optimal efficiency in generating renewable electricity.
“This would be the most efficient way to generating electricity in this location, without any need for a financial subsidy and will assist the surrounding local councils to deliver their commitment to become carbon neutral by 2030.
“The wind farm will be designed to respond to local environmental constraints and evolve through the consultation process in line with the feedback from the local community and other consultees.”
So-called community consultation days are now set to take place for residents to share their views about the proposals for the energy park, and Bute Energy is encouraging local communities to engage as much as possible.
In line with Covid-19 safety guidelines, these events will run as “prebooked” 15-minute slots to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to have their say with minimised risk to health and safety.
Further consultation days at additional event locations will be finalised at a later stage.
The first consultation days will take place at: ■ Senghenydd Community Centre November 2 - between 11am and 7pm; ■ YMCA Centre, Abertridwr - November 3 - between 11am and 7pm; ■ Llanbradach Community Centre November 5 - between 11am and 7pm; ■ Nelson Institute - November 10 between 11am and 7pm; ■ Cilfynydd Rugby Club - November 11 - between 3pm and 8pm.
Matthew Haughton, of Bute Energy, said: “We are in the process of scoping our application and have undertaken early stage feasibility assessments of the site, the findings of which have informed our current design assumptions.
“In early November we’ll be holding the first of our formal community consultation days and are looking forward to hearing the views of local communities and residents.
“More detailed assessment and design will continue over the next few months through the point of lodging our future planning application in August 2022.
“The final design will also respond to the feedback obtained from our ongoing and future stakeholder engagement. We will be holding further rounds of consultation as the design evolves.
“The community benefit fund we propose equates to £7,500 per megawatt of installed capacity, which is significantly greater than the industry standard to date and could mean an annual fund in the region of up to £1 million to be invested into the local community.
“Our approach of working with communities at this early stage of the development process will help ensure the most sensible, ambitious, and meaningful projects can be identified for such an investment.
“Over the coming months we will be working with community partners to build a framework for delivery of a package of benefits to the communities surrounding the project with the aim of identifying and contributing to community interests.
“We aim to create a lasting legacy which enhances economic prosperity, creates employment and educational opportunities throughout the lifetime of the project and for future generations.
“We anticipate it would generate significant ongoing investment for Caerphilly borough communities across the region including those nearest the development such as Senghennydd, Abertridwr, Nelson and also Cilfynydd in Rhondda Cynon Taf.”