Bryn Gilwern Energy Park FAQs

Why has this site been selected?

Bryn Gilwern Energy Park sits entirely within Pre-Assessed Area 4 for Wind Energy in Future Wales: The National Plan 2040.

We chose this location because our studies to date show its excellent exposure to wind resource, it has technical and environmental suitability, and good site access.

What is Bute Energy proposing to develop?

Bute Energy is seeking to deliver an Energy Park which will provide up to 84MW of clean, green energy using the latest wind turbine technology – enough to power up to approximately 78.000 homes, while displacing approximately 117,000 tonnes of CO2 over the operational lifetime of the project.

The Bryn Gilwern Energy Park will have up to 16 wind turbines with a maximum blade tip height of 220m, an electrical substation and control building, and anemometer masts for monitoring wind speeds and turbine performance. Our proposals will include, underground cables, site access tracks, habitat management, and, where necessary, off-site highway improvements.

How many wind turbines will there be?

Our initial proposal is to deliver up to a maximum of 16 turbines on the site. However, this will be subject to refinement as we get more information from our technical assessments (such as environmental impact, visual impact, and noise modelling) and surveys, as well as in response to feedback from consultees, stakeholders, and local residents.

How will you access the site and how will equipment be delivered?

We are still at a very early stage of identifying the best routes to ensure that traffic travelling to and from the site can do so safely and with minimal impact to the wider road network.

The site does, however, benefit from being close to the A44 and A483. The detailed design of the energy park will evolve over the coming months, taking account of consultation feedback from local people and statutory consultees, as well as ongoing environmental and technical assessments.

How will the project connect to the electricity grid?

In Mid Wales, the existing electricity network does not have the capacity to connect all the planned new renewables to homes and businesses – to end the use of fossil fuels we need new infrastructure and quickly.

There are already plans to link the nearby proposed Nant Mithil Energy Park to a new substation in Carmarthenshire via the Green GEN Towy-Usk scheme proposed by Green GEN Cymru (part of Bute Energy Group). The Bryn Gilwern Energy Parks will be linked to this line via use of wooden pole transmission lines to a new proposed collector station close to the proposed energy parks.

Pylons are used all over the world as a proven means of connecting energy safely, reliably, and efficiently. Using pylons is in line with national policy guidance for electrical connections.

Further details on the Green GEN Cymru Towy Usk proposal can be viewed at: https://www.greengentowyusk.com/