Bryn Gilwern Energy Park

About the project

We’re proposing an onshore wind renewable energy project called Bryn Gilwern Energy Park, approximately 3km east of Llandrindod Wells in Powys, mid Wales.

Our proposal includes up to 16 wind turbines, which could generate 84MW of clean and renewable energy, enough to power the equivalent of approximately 78,700 households a year* and displace approximately 4.7 million tonnes of CO2 during its lifetime.

Bryn Gilwern Energy Park would also deliver significant benefits to the local community, including an annual Community Benefit Fund in the region of £630,000 – totalling around £25 million over the operational life of the project.

According to the new planning system in Wales (called the Infrastructure Consents Regime), this project is classed as a Significant Infrastructure Project.  This means that developers must submit consent applications to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW), and decisions are made by Welsh Ministers.

Our early-stage public consultation ran between 8 November and 20 December 2023 when we held three exhibitions during this time, in Builth Wells, Penybont, and Llandrindod Wells with over 400 people attending.

We’re now undertaking further detailed environmental and technical surveys. The findings from these studies, together with your feedback, will help shape and develop our proposals.

Once we have progressed our proposals, we will be sharing the draft planning application with you in another round of consultation before it is submitted to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales.  Check out our indicative timeline below to understand how we’re looking to progress.

* – Average UK household consumption taken from RenewableUK

 

The site

The Bryn Gilwern site would extend to 1309 hectares and is approximately 3km to the southeast of Llandrindod Wells and south of the A44 and A483 junction.  The proposal is located within Pre-Assessed Area (PAA) 4, a PAA for Wind Energy as defined in the national development framework Future Wales: The National Plan 2040.

Current site design includes:

  • up to 16 wind turbines with a maximum blade tip height of 220m, each with external transformers, turbine foundations, crane hardstanding and laydown/storage areas. Habitat management areas will be integrated into the proposal.
  • access tracks, an electrical substation and an anemometer mast(s) for monitoring wind speed and wind turbine performance.
  • temporary construction and storage compounds on site.

The delivery route for turbine components to site is still to be explored.

 

Site map

Bryn Gilwern timeline

Initial consultation with local
communities, stakeholders, and
specialist consultees. Winter 2023
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Initial consultation with local
communities, stakeholders, and
specialist consultees. Winter 2023

This is our first round of consultations. During this stage, we continue carrying out environmental surveys and assessments to inform the draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). At the same time, we begin shaping the design of the proposed energy park. To do this, we hold an ‘informal’ consultation round, where we present early proposals and invite feedback from communities, stakeholders and consultees. It’s known as ‘non-statutory’ consultation, because we aren’t required to undertake it, and we won’t yet have all the details about the plans – however we see great value in presenting our early plans in order to help inform the design process.

Evolution of our proposals –
informed by consultation feedback
and in depth site survey Winter 2023 to Autumn 2024
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Evolution of our proposals –
informed by consultation feedback
and in depth site surveyWinter 2023 to Autumn 2024
Meteorological mast approval Early 2025 – planning permissions received
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Meteorological mast approvalEarly 2025 – planning permissions received
Design development, EIA
and reporting Throughout 2024 and into 2025
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Design development, EIA
and reportingThroughout 2024 and into 2025

This is an important early milestone in developing the project. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a central document which sets out all of the surveys, assessments and reports we undertake to inform the design of the proposed energy park and ensure that we’re minimising potential environmental impacts. This process takes several months, and we must ensure that we assess all necessary environmental considerations. At this point we submit an overview of how we intend to undertake this work, and which surveys and assessments we’ll include. Through its ‘Scoping Direction’, (normally in the form of a letter), the department responsible for planning at Welsh Government (PEDW) will then tell us whether our proposed approach to delivering this is appropriate, and if we need to take any other issues into account.

Meteorological mast installation Spring - Summer 2025
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Meteorological mast installationSpring - Summer 2025
Current PhaseProject transition to Infrastructure Consents Regime Summer 2026
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Project transition to Infrastructure Consents RegimeSummer 2026

The planning system in Wales is changing – this is the system in which big infrastructure projects like onshore wind parks work through in order to gain planning permission to build the infrastructure.  The change to a new planning system comes as a result of the Welsh Government’s Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024.

Many of our current and future projects may be considered under the new Infrastructure Consent Regime as Significant Infrastructure Projects. But it won’t be all of our projects – because some of our projects were submitted into the Developments of National Significance process before the Infrastructure Consents Regime went live (on 14 December 2025). The Welsh Government has agreed that Developments of National Significance projects which had already started could carry on under the old regime – as long as they submitted their applications before 14 December 2026.

Our current DNS projects that are moving to the new Infrastructure Consent Regime include:

  • Waun Hesgog Energy Park
  • Lan Fawr Energy Park
  • Garreg Fawr Energy Park
  • Bryn Gilwern Energy Park
  • Esgair Galed Energy Park

Click here to read our simple guide to the new planning system in Wales.