Wind Farms on the Horizon
Like pieces in a jigsaw!
Turning to wind farms now, we knew about BellTown’s Waun Maenllwyd Energy Hub and Galileo’s Bryn Cadwgan Energy Park. However, pinpointing their exact locations proved challenging as the maps became blurred and indistinct when zooming in for more detail.
We recently received paperwork regarding the wind farm plots, which allowed us to plot these locations on a map. This enabled us to get a clearer picture and perform some calculations.
Waun Maenllyd has 6 turbines, while Bryn Cadwgan features 25 turbines. Their websites indicate that solar and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) will also be incorporated into their designs. Both of these proposals have completed their first consultations.
Lan Fawr Energy Park is projected to have 40 turbines; however, since we have yet to have our first consultation for this project, we can only estimate its extent based on the Bute planning maps we have been given.
These three wind farms will fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle to form one huge wind farm. It will consist of 71 turbines, each with a height of "up to" 230m, and cover an area of 15 square miles.
This is a concrete pour in progress for the base of a 155m high turbine at The Viking Wind Farm in Shetland. The turbines for all of the projects here will have an approximate blade tip height of 230m, which means their bases will need to be larger than this one.
This photo clearly illustrates the ecological impact of wind farm construction. This is just one base; add in the borrow pits and access roads, and imagine the impact of constructing 71 bases.
Recently, more documents emerged regarding another nearby wind farm project: Nant Ceiment. This 15-turbine energy park is in the pipeline for Pencarreg Mountain, just behind the 100m transmission mast above Lampeter. The maps we’ve seen show that it will cover 4 square miles.
Everything needs to be transported to the site by road. Our roads are unsuitable for the size of vehicles needed to do this. They must be upgraded to accommodate the heavy transport required to bring the building materials and components to the site.
The timeline for building these industrial infrastructure projects will be counted in years, disrupting everyday life and threatening our economic future. Who will want to come and spend their holidays in a construction zone?
Wales is not only facing climate change but also a biodiversity crisis. It is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.
The 2019 State of Nature report found that:
One in six species in Wales is at risk of extinction
73 species have been lost since the 1970s
Who is taking note of this?
Stop Press
Lluest Y Gwynt is another wind farm in Ceredigion, more advanced than those mentioned earlier. It has been in the pipeline since 2020. We’ve just received news that it has entered its statutory consultation phase. The only information I have for now is shown below. I’ll provide more updates as I learn more.
I have added a “Visit Wales” promotional video for Pumlumon Fawr at the end of this piece. The video should highlight the impact that Lluest Y Gwynt will have on this environmentally sensitive area. There is a brief glimpse of some turbines from the summit; these turbines are no higher than 100m.
Lluest Y Gwynt Wind Farm is a partnership between Statkraft and Eco2. The project is located near the village of Ponterwyd, east of Aberystwyth, on the slopes of Pumlumon. It is currently in its statutory consultation phase, which will conclude on February 12, 2025. This marks the final consultation period before the submission of their planning application.
Two face-to-face public consultations are scheduled:
Syr John Rhys School, Ponterwyd, SY23 3JX
Wednesday, 29th January 2025, 4pm to 8pm
Llangurig Community Centre, Llangurig, SY18 6SG
Thursday, 30th January 2025, 10am to 2pm
A non-technical summary of the proposals can be accessed here
A photo montage of the visual impact from Pumlumon Fawr is here