The project supports the Welsh Government’s target for electricity to be 100 percent renewable by 2035. Clean energy generated at Twyn Hywel will help displace approximately 5.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, the equivalent to taking all cars off the road in Caerphilly County Borough Council each year.
The project will also deliver significant benefits to the local community, including an annual Community Benefit Fund in the region of £693,000 – totalling more than £30 million over the up to 45-year operational life of the project.
The Community Benefit Fund will provide local groups, charities and services with funding to sustain their work, create new innovative projects that benefit local people and help organisations combine their expertise with others to build large scale multi-year legacy projects to benefit local communities. Uniquely for a fund of this type, it is linked to the Consumer Price Index to allow for economic inflation and to future proof the funding.
Informed by engagement with local people and stakeholders, Community Benefit Funding will focus on creating healthier, wealthier communities by supporting recreational, health and wellbeing improvements, enhancing local education offering and identifying more pathways into employment for local people. And it will highlight opportunities to celebrate and promote local culture, heritage and biodiversity.
The project could also deliver recreational improvements in consultation with local communities and users of Eglwysilan Common, including enhancement of existing public rights of way so they are fully accessible and inclusive for all users. And in partnership with local heritage organisations, Bute Energy will help local people and visitors take in and interpret some of the unique features and rich heritage of the local area, including the Senghenydd Dyke. This will provide local schools with the opportunity for visits to the site to support the delivery of the Curriculum for Wales.
Improvements to habitats and support for local wildlife are also included in the application, with the project committed to delivering around 20 percent Biodiversity Net Benefit to the site through proposals including hedgerow planting and the restoration of degraded bog habitats.
“We’re pleased to have submitted our planning application for the Twyn Hywel Energy Park, which will generate enough clean, green energy to power the equivalent of 81,000 households a year and help displace approximately 5.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, the equivalent to taking all cars off the road in Caerphilly County Borough Council each year” said Matthew Haughton, Project Manager for the Twyn Hywel Energy Park. “The design of the Energy Park has evolved through constructive feedback from the local community and other stakeholders, that has seen a reduction in the number of turbines, and a change in location of some of the turbines, to reduce the impact on nearby communities. Twyn Hywel also represents a significant package of benefits for the local community. Not only an annual Community Benefit Fund in the region of £693,000 supporting local organisations, groups and service providers, but also the improvement and maintenance of recreation opportunities and other environmental initiatives.
The development will also support local youth charity, Senghenydd Youth Drop-In Centre (SYDIC). Set up in 1997, the centre offers a wide range of opportunities for young people, with 37 percent of local young people directly accessing their services on a regular basis.
“As a nation we’re in a climate emergency, and a cost-of-living crisis” added Mr Haughton. “Our supply of energy is threatened by world events. Yet there is endless potential for renewable energy in Wales – particularly from the wind that blows across our hills and mountains. Bute Energy is making the Welsh weather work for Wales: acting now to help deliver clean, green energy to our homes and businesses, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and supporting the Welsh Government’s target for electricity to be 100 percent renewable by 2035.”
The majority of the proposed Energy Park site sits within a Pre-Assessed Area for large-scale onshore wind energy according to the Welsh Government’s National Development Framework, Future Wales: The National Plan 2040. As the proposed Twyn Hywel Energy Park will generate more than 10 MW of energy, it is classed as a Development of National Significance. This means that Bute Energy have applied to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW), which will make a recommendation to Welsh Ministers, on whether or not to grant planning permission.
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