Carwyn officially opens Wales’ largest wind farm
WALES’ largest onshore wind farm – which can generate enough electricity for nearly one in six Welsh homes – has been opened.
The 76-turbine Pen y Cymoedd wind farm between Neath and Aberdare was officially opened yesterday by First Minister Carwyn Jones.
It comes just days after Environment Secretary Lesley Griffiths said she wanted Wales to generate 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
The wind farm has been built by Swedish energy group Vattenfall. Yesterday Vattenfall president and CEO Magnus Hall told Mr Jones he hoped for the chance to build more, saying: “We are in Wales to grow.”
He added: “Pen y Cymoedd boosts Wales’ drive to carbon reduction, it accelerates Vattenfall’s shift to be fossil free in a generation and it helps the Welsh economy to grow.
“Vattenfall and our contractors have spent £220m in the Welsh economy since construction started in 2014, 52% of the total investment we have made in Pen y Cymoedd.
“That is quite an achievement and one we will want to repeat if we get the chance to build other wind farms in Wales. We are in Wales to grow.”
The three-year construction project for the 228-megawatt facility has secured work for more than 1,000 workers in Wales.
The First Minister said: “Wind power is a key part of our efforts to build a sustainable low-carbon economy for Wales. I am pleased we were able to support this project, which has shown how the local community, the Welsh economy and people right across the country can benefit from such a scheme.”
Pen y Cymoedd will employ 23 skilled wind farm technicians and support staff from the local workforce over the next 20 years.
Huw Jones, chairman of Jones Bros Civil Engineering, which built the scheme in a joint venture with Balfour Beatty, said: “Pen y Cymoedd has been a fantastic contract, not only for the business, but also our 350 employees and their families.
“Around 90% of our employees are Welsh, and it’s fantastic that so much of the investment into the Pen y Cymoedd workforce has been going straight back into the Welsh economy via their pay packets.
“To be able to work on more onshore wind farms in Wales would mean more good news for the business and the families it supports.”
Diane McCrea, chairman of Natural Resources Wales, which manages the land on which the wind farm is built, said: “The environment is our most valuable natural asset and Pen y Cymoedd, constructed on land NRW manages on behalf of the Welsh Government, is an excellent example of the right development in the right place.
“We have worked closely with Vattenfall to deliver this project, which not only stimulates positive economic change for Wales, but also puts NRW at the forefront of Welsh Government’s low-carbon economy, climate change and green growth programmes – all aligned to our purpose of managing the environment and natural resources sustainably.”
In an average year, Pen y Cymoedd will power the equivalent of 188,000 UK homes, about 15% of Welsh households.
Operational since spring 2017, the project will have paid back its carbon footprint by 2020 and will continue generating fossil-fuel-free electricity till at least 2037.
Pen y Cymoedd will displace in an average year more than 300,000 tonnes of CO2 from fossil-fuelled generation, based on current levels of carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector. THE London market eked out marginal gains yesterday as blue-chip firms with hefty American operations enjoyed a lift after US President Donald Trump revealed a plan for sweeping tax reforms.
The FTSE 100 Index closed up 9.31 points to 7322.82, with Irish building materials firm CRH and the equipment rentals business Ashtead Group sitting among the biggest risers as traders priced in Mr Trump’s tax overhaul.
In UK stocks, tobacco giant Imperial Brands fell by more than 4% after it revealed that talks were under way to thrash out a rescue deal for Palmer & Harvey (P&H) to ensure the troubled wholesaler has a “sustainable future”.
The FTSE 100 firm is working with “other stakeholders” to come up with a plan for the 90-year-old group, which is grappling with a substantial debt burden.
P&H, the UK’s biggest supplier of cigarettes, employs around 4,000 people and provides alcohol, groceries and frozen food to 90,000 retail accounts, including Tesco supermarkets.
Imperial Brands is said to be working with Japan Tobacco International (JTI) to throw a financial lifeline to P&H so it can push through a takeover by investment firm the Carlyle Group, according to Sky News.
Shares were down 133p to 3,172p.
Thomson owner Tui was also struggling despite saying it was on track for a doubledigit surge in annual profits.
The travel giant said its “primary focus” has been on supporting holidaymakers in resorts impacted by Hurricane Irma, as well as rebooking customers in alternative destinations.
Tui did not give an overall cost of the impact of Irma on its business, but a spokesman said it saw “lower double-digit” costs for cancellations, customer care and repatriation for holidaymakers across Florida, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and some smaller locations like St Martin.
But the group stuck by aims to grow annual underlying earnings by at least 10% in the year to the end of September.
Shares were down 3p to 1,262p.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were CRH up 79p at 2,784p, Ferguson up 133p to 4,898p, Rolls-Royce Holdings up 22.5p to 884p, and Ashtead Group up 42p to 1,803p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Imperial Brands down 133p to 3,172p, easyJet down 22p to 1,201p, Carnival down 83p to 4,730p, and Burberry down 29p at 1,733p.