Welsh renewables developer submits application for Energy Park

• Twyn Hywel Energy Park could generate 92.4MW of clean, green energy – which could power the equivalent of 81,000 households a year.
• Project has a Community Benefit Fund of £693,000 a year for the local area – more than £30m over the projects up to 45-year operational life.
• If consented, Twyn Hywel Energy Park could begin construction and start to generate clean, green power in 2025.

Welsh renewable energy developer Bute Energy has submitted an application for a Development of National Significance for the Twyn Hywel Energy Park, on the border of Caerphilly County Borough Council and Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council.

The Twyn Hywel Energy Park will include up to 14 wind turbines generating 92.4MW of clean, green energy, enough to power the equivalent of 81,000 households a year. The project responds to the Climate Emergency and will help local communities live modern electric lives, while supporting the Welsh Government’s target for electricity to be 100% renewable by 2035.

The 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 Twyn Hywel Energy Park 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% Biodiversity Net Benefit to the site through proposals including hedgerow planting and the restoration of degraded bog habitats.

Matthew Haughton, Project Manager for the Twyn Hywel Energy Park, said:

“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.  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.

“As a nation we’re in a climate emergency, and a cost-of-living crisis. 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% renewable by 2035.”

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% of local young people directly accessing their services on a regular basis. Dave Brunton, Senghenydd Youth Drop-In Centre Project Manager said:

“We’re proud to be working with Bute Energy to address climate change. As well as supplying renewable energy to the National Grid, Twyn Hywel will enhance the local environment and offer much needed support to local groups.

“Our partnership with Bute Energy helps guarantee on-going community services and support for young people in the Aber Valley. This partnership will help our essential youth support work to continue, while producing education and training opportunities including apprenticeships and internships for local young people.”

Heidi Purnell, Business Engagement Advisor at Careers Wales said:

“Support from Bute Energy has helped raise awareness of careers in the Green Energy sector. Schools in Rhondda Cynon Taf and Caerphilly have undertaken hands-on workshops, and mock interviews and benefitted from talks and discussions.

“Year 11 girls particularly enjoyed visiting the Bute Energy offices in Cardiff, where they met inspiring female role models and experienced the day-to-day running of an office, which helped to challenge gender stereotypes and remove barriers.

“Careers Wales is looking forward to continuing the partnership and ensuring that young people are aware of the opportunities that the Green Energy sector can bring.”

RenewableUK Cymru Director, Jess Hooper said:

“Onshore wind is cheap and quick to build and is a critical part of the renewable energy mix Wales needs to meet our energy security and net zero targets. 40% of Wales’s renewable generation currently comes from onshore wind. To make the major inroads we need to meet the Welsh Government’s proposed target of 100% of electricity from renewable resources by 2035, we desperately need to upgrade our grid network and streamline the planning process so that more onshore wind developments like Twyn Hywel can come online.

“The substantial Community Benefit Fund from this project is an excellent example of the enormous benefit onshore wind can bring. It is clear Bute Energy are working collaboratively with the local community as part of the development process and listening to their views on what form these benefits should take, building a strong, successful partnership going forward.”

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 10MW 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.

• You can find out more about the Twyn Hywel Energy Park at TwynHywelEnergyPark.Wales
• To find out more about the planning process and timeline, search DNS/3272053 at Planning and Environment Decisions Wales website planningcasework.service.gov.wales