The interests and needs of Welsh communities are at the very heart of Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru.
Social and economic
Working closely with Natural Resources Wales, (who manage Brechfa Forest on behalf of the Welsh Government), local landowners and communities, Carmarthenshire County Council, and other local stakeholders, we will explore opportunities to realise long-term socio-economic benefits for local communities and Wales as a whole throughout the development, construction and operational phases of our project.
Environment
In addition to contributing to Wales’s 2050 net-zero goal, Glyn Cothi Wind Farm has the potential to make a positive impact on the local environment. The types of environmental benefits we will look for will range from opportunities to enhance certain local habitats to improving conditions for key species.
Assessing potential environmental effects is a key part of the planning process. We have started our assessments and surveys which will look at the following potential effects the proposed development could have on:
- Landscape and visual impact
- Ecology
- Ornithology
- Noise
- Hydrology
- Soils and peat
- Transport and access
We will share more information about our interim findings later this year when we undertake the informal consultation on our plans.
The planning process
This year, the new Infrastructure (Wales) Act will be implemented. As a project which generates renewable energy and has a capacity of over 50 MW, Glyn Cothi Wind Farm is defined within the Act as a Significant Infrastructure Project (SIP). Trydan will apply to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW), a department of the Welsh Government, for an Infrastructure Consent (IC) for Glyn Cothi Wind Farm.
We will undertake a statutory pre-application consultation where we will present our full draft planning application for consultees to feed back on.
An independent Planning Inspector will examine the application and make a recommendation to the Welsh Ministers whether to grant planning consent. The final decision is made by the Welsh Ministers.
The examination process itself subjects the plans to full scrutiny, a planning consent will therefore ensure the design complies with relevant planning considerations. Planning conditions will be imposed and will be discharged ensuring construction, operation and decommissioning meet relevant standards.
Trydan is required to adhere to all of the same strict planning rules which private developers must meet, and we are held to the same standards.
Trydan’s work is overseen by the Cabinet Member for The Welsh Government who defines our remit, and the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning has oversight of our activities. A different Cabinet Member will be responsible for deciding whether our projects receive planning consent.