Pen y Cymoedd

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Pen y Cymoedd Wind Farm
Pen y Cymoedd
Country Wales
Locationbetween Neath and Aberdare in south Wales.
Coordinates 51°42′40″N3°33′43″W / 51.711°N 3.562°W / 51.711; -3.562
StatusOperational
Commission date
  • 2 January 2017
Owner(s)
Operator(s)
Wind farm
Hub height89.5 m [1]
Rotor diameter
  • 108 m (354 ft)
Power generation
Units operational76 × 3 MW
Make and model Siemens Gamesa SWT-3.0-108 (28)
Siemens Gamesa SWT-3.0-113 (48)
Nameplate capacity
  • 228 MW
Capacity factor 30% [2]
Annual net output 0.6 TWh
External links
Website group.vattenfall.com/uk/what-we-do/our-projects/pen-y-cymoedd

Pen y Cymoedd ("Head of the Valleys") is a wind farm located between Neath and Aberdare in south Wales. It opened in 2017.

Contents

History

Development

Natural Resources Wales signed a lease agreement with Vattenfall of Sweden and its British-based subsidiary Vattenfall United Kingdom (formerly Nuon Renewables), to develop what will be the United Kingdom's highest altitude wind farm, on a site owned by Natural Resources Wales, previously the Forestry Commission Wales. [3] The project has seen the installation of 76 turbines with a peak power of 228 MWp, that are planned to operate for 25 years, and to generate up to 0.6 TWh/yr, an amount enough to power up to 140 000 homes with an annual consumption of 4 266 kWh. [4] The turbine manufacturer is Siemens Wind Power.

During the planning process, Vattenfall (at that time: Nuon) agreed to contribute about £1.85m annually to a community fund and to invest £3m in a habitat restoration scheme, and the following parties contributed to the debate: [5]

The project gained final planning permission in May 2012. [6]

Construction and opening

The first turbine was fully completed in April 2016 [7] and began generating electricity in autumn 2016. The final (76th) turbine was installed on 2 March 2017, and the farm has been fully operational since 7 May 2017. [8] The farm was officially opened in September 2017. [9]

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References

  1. "Windhoist Turbine Erection Specialists - Pen y Cymoedd Wind Farm". 14 March 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  2. "Pen y Cymoedd Wind Energy Project" (PDF). 5 June 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  3. "Wind Energy Project Pen y Cymoedd (SSA F)". Forestry Commission . Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  4. "Pen y Cymoedd Wind Energy Project" (PDF). 5 June 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  5. "Pen y Cymoedd wind farm step nearer after RCT decision". BBC Wales. 5 October 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  6. "£365m wind farm between Neath and Aberdare backed". BBC Wales. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  7. "PRESS RELEASE: First turbine erected at Wales's largest onshore wind farm". Vattenfall United Kingdom. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  8. "Wales climate change boost as new wind farm hits full power". vattenfall.co.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  9. Pen-y-Cymoedd wind farm officially opens, BBC News (September 26, 2017).