Wind Power and the Cambrian Mountains

A major current concern of the Society is the threat posed by major wind energy developments to the landscape, natural beauty, biodiversity, and scientific interest of the Cambrian Mountains. We also believe such developments to be damaging to the interests of the communities of the Cambrian Mountains, whose future viability will be increasingly dependent on those qualities of their environment which we seek to sustain and enhance.

Cefn Croes

Cefn Croes power station, opened in 2005, was built on a high plateau in the heart of the Cambrian Mountains, despite huge opposition, and despite the advice of the officers of the local planning authority that it should not be permitted because of its impact on the environment and landscape. Click here for more.

Nant-y-moch

We deplore the designation by the Welsh Assembly Government in its Technical Advice Note 8 (TAN8) of the Nant-y-moch Strategic Search Area (SSA). Click here for a map of the Nant-y-moch SSA (PDF file - requires Adobe Reader).

In line with the recommendations of TAN 8, Ceredigion Council commissioned a report during 2007 from Arup Consultants with a view to providing an evidence base for subsequent planning policy formation and decision-making. The report concluded: "It is recommended in accordance with the study brief that the TAN 8 SSA boundary is therefore refined to remove the environmentally worst performing areas and any additional land not needed to deliver the TAN 8 indicative capacities". In line with this recommendation, the map provided in the Arup Report shows a very significant reduction in the original Nant-y-moch TAN 8 area. Click here to read the Arup report (8MB PDF file - requires Adobe Reader)

Towards the end of 2007 there were public consultations about a possible wind farm above Talybont ("Moel Fferm"). Although this was partly within the original Nant-y-moch TAN 8 area, almost all of it lay outside the refined area as identified by the Arup Report. No formal planning application has yet been made for the Moel Fferm scheme. However, proposals for some part of the Nant-y-moch TAN 8 area are to be expected soon - possibly for a power station of up to 100MW. Most of this is likely to be on land managed by Forestry Commission Wales (FCW) on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government. Click here for more on this. At least three anemometers (wind gauges) are already in place on FCW land and adjacent moorland within the SSA.

The society will oppose any major wind energy development arising from the Nant-y-moch SSA designation.

Camddwr

There is also an ill-defined proposal for an enormous power station of around 165 x 2MW turbines in the southern part of the Cambrian Mountains. This area was thankfully excluded from the Strategic Search Areas, apparently because of objections from the Ministry of Defence, which uses it for very low altitude flight training - one of only two such Tactical Training Areas in the UK. This scheme is the brainchild of one Dafydd Huws of Caerffili, who has set up a body called the Camddwr Trust, and hopes to gain approval for his plans by promising to distribute a portion of the revenue from the windfarm to local communities. Camddwr may yet re-emerge as a threat to the Cambrian Mountains, when the windpower possibilities of existing TAN8 areas have been exhausted, and if experimental work succeeds in perfecting a system which would obviate the threat posed by turbines to the RAF's tactical training requirements.