Welsh ministers have granted planning permission for EDF Renewables UK’s Garn Fach wind farm.
The 85MW onshore development will be located south of Newtown in Wales, and will be made up of 17 turbines with a maximum tip height of 149.9 meters. The development plans include an energy storage system onsite, the potential capacity of which has not been disclosed.
The project was first announced in 2020, with the early planning process beginning in 2021. Planning approval for the project had previously been delayed due to objections from government officials and environmental regulators, who raised concerns on the potential impacts on nearby peatland. However, these objections were dropped following an updated environmental protection commitment from EDF.
EDF Renewables UK’s director for Onshore Wind Jon O’Sullivan said: “We are pleased that the Welsh government has approved our planning application for Garn Fach Wind Farm. The site is an excellent location for a wind farm and has the potential to make a significant positive impact in Wales and to the local community.”
Responding to the approval, RenewableUK Cymru’s director Jess Hooper commented: “This is a tremendous shot in the arm for the Welsh renewables industry. Garn Fach is a significant milestone project for Wales, and we are delighted it has got the go ahead after more than two years in the planning system.
“Now the Welsh government has committed to a sector deal with Wales’ renewable energy industry, this will help us to work in partnership to accelerate planning decisions and provide greater clarity to drive inward investment and green economic growth.”
Welsh renewable energy continues to thrive
The Welsh government has committed to meeting all of its electricity needs from renewable sources by 2035. As such, renewable energy development has seen a major uptick in recent months and years.
In order to better facilitate Wales’ renewable energy ambitions, the Welsh energy secretary Jeremy Miles launched a state-owned renewable energy developer, Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru, in July this year. Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru will focus primarily on onshore wind developments, with an aim of hastening development of renewable energy projects on the Welsh public estate. A recent Current± blog explored the success of Wales’ nationalised renewable energy efforts to understand what the newly launched GB Energy can learn from them.
Looking out to sea, Innovate UK recently awarded a group of energy industry majors £887,000 in development funding to support a project seeking to develop green hydrogen from floating offshore wind located off the coast of Pembrokeshire, with early concept tests marking the first time that hydrogen has been produced from seawater in a UK marine environment.
