Wales’ largest renewable energy generator has begun an eight-week formal consultation on plans to develop a wind farm capable of generating power equivalent to the needs of up to 48,000 homes on a site straddling Denbighshire and Gwynedd.
RWE’s proposed Gaerwen Wind Farm has a planned capacity of up to 59 MW. If approved this will include nine turbines, two with a tip height of up to 200m and seven of up to 180m, battery storage potential is also being explored. The site is located south-west of Corwen and north-east of Bala.
The formal consultation follows an informal consultation held in 2022, after which the project design has been refined with the benefit of extensive survey data covering ecology, ornithology, hydrology, noise and visual impacts, as well as wind measurements.
Arfon Edwards, RWE’s Project Manager leading on the development, said:
“Having spent a number of years gathering survey and other information, and refining many different aspects of the scheme, we are now ready to share our proposals with the public in order to hear their views and suggestions.
“After our previous consultation period we made a number of changes which have enabled us to maximise the renewable energy generation from this site as well as avoiding important deep peat areas.
“In our draft Environmental Statement we have set out actions to mitigate any effect on protected species including ground nesting birds, such as curlew, lapwing and other breeding wader species.”
This consultation is the latest milestone in the project which began in 2020. If approved, the Gaerwen Wind Farm and its associated community package that is currently being informed by community and local feedback, will directly benefit the community support local businesses and supply chains. In addition, the renewable project would support Wales as it strives for the target of meeting 100 per cent of electricity consumption with renewables by 2035.
The planning application will be considered by Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW), with a final decision by the Welsh Ministers anticipated in 2025.
RWE is the largest power producer in Wales, and the country’s number one renewable energy generator, currently involved in over 3 GW of energy in Wales across 12 sites, of which around 1 GW is renewable. The existing renewable energy portfolio already generates one third of Wales’ renewable energy production – enough to power 550,000 homes. They directly employ around 350 people in Wales in dedicated offices in Baglan, Dolgarrog, and the Port of Mostyn, as well as onsite at their power stations.
Over the last decade, together with partners, RWE has invested over £3 billion to deliver projects in Wales, with wind farms operated by RWE in Wales contributing over £15m to good causes in local communities that host their renewable energy projects.
