Bute Energy is a renewable Energy Company focussed on developing a large infrastructure of onshore wind parks in Wales. Our family of projects are all at different stages of development, with many currently at varying stages of planning. The projects are of strategic importance to Wales’ energy future, with all projects capable of delivering green energy by 2030. Together, the projects would represent around £3bn of investment, with a large amount of this coming directly into the Welsh supply chain. It could be capable of producing 2 gigawatts of clean green energy, enough renewable electricity to power around 2.25 million homes. By 2035 it is estimated this will be around 25% of the total electricity demand for Wales.

Bute Energy is acting now, taking positive proactive steps to help address the climate emergency and rising cost of living, while investing in rural communities in Wales to help them have a healthy future.

This site has been identified as having excellent exposure to wind resource and good site access. We’ve undertaken extensive site and desk-based technical studies as well as environmental feasibility assessments to help us demonstrate that the site is optimal for renewable energy generation.

Bute Energy is seeking to deliver an Energy Park which will provide approximately 40MW of clean, green energy using the latest wind turbine technology – enough to power approximately 37,936 households per annum.

The proposed development includes 6 wind turbines with a maximum blade tip height of 200m, turbine foundations, crane hardstanding and laydown/storage areas.

The site will have access tracks, an electrical substation and an anemometer mast for monitoring wind speed and wind turbine performance.

There will be temporary construction and storage compounds on site during construction.

Since our statutory pre-application consultation, we have made the following design changes to our proposals, including:

• Turbine 1 has been reduced in tip height of from 200m to 180m to reduce residential visual amenity (RVA) impacts; and
• Turbine 6 and the associated crane pad have been moved east to avoid a bat buffer area and a heritage asset.

In addition to producing the cleaner, greener more sustainable energy needed to tackle the climate emergency, Banc Du Energy Park will deliver significant benefits to the local community.

For every megawatt of energy that Banc Du Energy Park has the capacity to generate, there’ll be £7,500 invested in the local community. This will see an annual Community Benefit fund in the region of approximately £300,000 community benefit fund per annum.

The Community Benefit Fund will be administered through an independent charitable entity to support local communities to create legacy projects, support charities and groups and to improve services.
The fund is also 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. It will also highlight opportunities to celebrate and promote local culture, heritage, and biodiversity.

The access point for the delivery of turbine components will be via a new simple priority junction on the A44 to the west of Llangurig.

The access junction will be included in the proposal for consent and will provide access for all abnormal loads associated with the turbine deliveries as well as access for HGV’s delivering construction materials.

Any additional works required for the transport of abnormal loads will require separate planning permission, which will be submitted in consultation with the Local Authority. A Transport Management Plan will be developed in collaboration with the police, highway authorities, and hauliers to ensure the safe and efficient transport of components.

As the generating capacity of the proposed Energy Park is more than 10MW of energy, it falls under the planning category known as a Development of National Significance (DNS).

DNS applications are submitted to Welsh Government Ministers to decide via Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW). Local stakeholders and residents are able to provide their views at multiple stages of the planning process, including our non-statutory consultation in autumn 2022 and the pre-application and determination phases. The submission date for the DNS application is expected later in 2025.

Powys County Council is a key statutory consultee and will prepare a Local Impact Report for PEDW on the application.

The project will deliver net benefit for biodiversity over its lifetime, including creating and restoring habitats. These enhancements, brought under appropriate management for the duration of the plan (45 years), will also benefit wildlife across the site by increasing the quality, quantity, diversity and connectivity of habitats from what is currently present.

We’ve carried out thorough noise monitoring and impact assessments in line with best practice, relevant legislation and in consultation with Powys County Council. This ensures that noise limits are set to protect local residents and safeguard residential amenity. Any planning permission granted will include strict noise limits, and we are committed to not exceeding them.

Temporary noise during construction will be managed through a Construction Environmental Management Plan and mitigated as much as possible through controlled measures. These include established work hours, noise management programmes, and delivery timings.

During the construction phase there may be some need to reroute public rights of way (PRoWs) due to construction and health and safety reasons. If this is required, we will apply for relevant consents and ensure communities are kept informed. Following completion all existing PRoWs will be restored.

On Bute Energy’s other sites, we have looked to enhance access and provision for recreation around the Energy Park. We are replicating this approach for Banc Du Energy Park and are preparing our Strategic Recreation Framework in consultation with stakeholders.

Our team has conducted extensive archaeological and historic background assessments of the site and surrounding area. These assessments concluded that there are no designated heritage assets within the proposed site.

There are ten Grade II Listed Buildings in the village of Llangurig, 400m to the south-east of the site. The Grade II* listed Church of Curig is also located within the village of Llangurig. We’ve designed the project to avoid direct physical impact on these heritage assets.

During construction, a protocol for unexpected archaeological discoveries will be developed and will be agreed with Heneb (formerly Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust).

It is common for farmers to continue rearing and grazing livestock and/or grow crops on land where wind turbines are located. There are also many examples of land next to and below wind turbines being used for a range of recreational activities, from walking and running, to cycling and horse riding.

During the construction period there may be a need to manage access and limitations placed on the types of activities which could take place across the site at times for safety reasons. However, once construction is complete and the energy park is operational, activities which take place on the site will be able to return to normal.

In Mid Wales, the existing electricity network does not have the capacity to connect all the planned new clean green energy to homes and businesses – to end the use of fossil fuels we need new infrastructure and quickly.
Since the non-statutory consultation phase in Autumn 2022, Green GEN Cymru has proposed the Rhiwlas grid line.
Green GEN Rhiwlas is subject to a separate planning application and more details can be found at www.rhiwlasgen.wales/

Bute Energy is committed to maximising the use of local supply chains and businesses to ensure that the investment, jobs, and training potential of the project are maximised. We would encourage local business owners interested in future procurement opportunities to contact us with any enquiries.

We would be keen to use the pre-application and determination phases to build up a network of local suppliers which will be taken forward into the project’s procurement phase, subject to receiving planning permission.

We’re pleased to confirm that a planning application for Banc Du Energy Park was submitted to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW) on 23 December 2025.
PEDW is currently reviewing the applications to ensure all required information has been submitted. Once accepted, the documents will be available to view on the PEDW Casework Portal. PEDW will then start its own five-week consultation which will be your final opportunity to give your views on the proposals.